Nightmares
by Dosser
Summary: Nick and Judy have lived their lives for the past three years without trouble, but one night that all changes when Nick's mind takes him to a place filled with fear and pain, he believes that it was only going to happen once, but little did he and Judy know that the nightmare was one of many, that the nightmares were just the beginning. rated M, reasons at beginning of chapter one.
1. The Nightmare

special thanks to the amazing Spamjamz from Tumblr for the cover art for this story.

* * *

rated M for

Course language

violence

descriptive dark imagery

and sexual content

* * *

Chapter One: The Nightmare

Three years ago a bunny cop ran into a con artist fox; they solved a case together, and six months later that cunning fox became a cop and the lover of the bunny. Their names were Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. However, their relationship being one of predator and pray they thought society would never accept them, but they were wrong, Nick and Judy were an inspiration to all the predator/pray couples and to everyone who believed love had a limit. After two months of being together Nick asked Judy to marry him, she agreed, and soon she became Judy Wilde. She took Nick's surname to make him understand that even though his parents had passed, she was there and was now his family.

Nick and Judy had built an undying love, one that wouldn't falter by a simple argument or fight. In fact, they only ever seemed to get closer and feel more for one another after a fight.

Nick told Judy she meant everything to him that he wouldn't know what to do without her, he told her she completed him that he was destined to be with her that they were to be together to the very end, and Judy felt the same.

Being a cop was something that was very demanding of Strength, physically and mentally. Having to chase criminals seeing dead animals and on rare occasions having to kill a criminal.

* * *

Nick had never killed before, but One day Judy had no choice, she had to kill. It had ripped her apart, but Nick helped her thought it he did his best to calm her through it all. After it had happened, both began to have thoughts about losing the other to the job, but those thoughts that plagued their minds had faded into the backs of their heads, well mostly.

After a long day working a double shift, Nick and Judy finally reached their apartment by seven PM and began their usual routine.

"So Carrots what do you want for dinner?" Nick asked with a grin on his face knowing exactly what she would have. Nick continued his question with a big smile, "Do you want fried crickets or a fruit salad?"

Judy looked at Nick with annoyance and responded, "What do you think I would want your fast food over my perfectly crafted salad?"

Nick answered sarcastically, "Carrots we got our food from the same place!"

Judy leaned against their apartment door and replied without hesitation in her tone as she looked at Nick who walked closer to her, "so that doesn't matter."

Nick hovered over her leaning against the door with one paw on it and the other in his pocket.

"And you know Cotton Tail; you tend to change your mind," he said with a devious grin.

Judy looked confused; she never changed her mind. Once she made a decision, there was no going back.

"What do you mean, I never change my mind?" Judy asked confidently looking up at him, thinking Nick had no evidence to back his claim.

Nick grinned while thinking, got ya! He then answered Judy with a slight increase in volume, "Last night, you said you were too tired to do anything after dinner."

Judy responded hesitantly having her ears fall slightly, "Y-Yeah so."

Nick had Judy right where he wanted her.

He answered her once more, this time with a little more contentment, while he removed his paw from his pocket and subtly rubbed his finger on her lip, "When we headed to bed you came on to me in a very energetic way."

Judy Blushed as Nick touched her lip, her face becoming very red and hot, and her leg beginning to tap on the door.

"T-That's because you d-do things like this," she answered with a stutter.

Nick stopped rubbing her lip then; he kissed her on the forehead.

"And you love me for it," he said joyfully as he stood up straight no longer using the door for support.

Judy moved away from the door then turned around and stuck a key in the doorknob, she twisted it, and it unlocked.

"Carrots you okay?" Nick asked worried he upset Judy.

Judy stood facing the door ears droopy with her keys still in her paw with the apartment one in the door.

Nick placed his paw on her shoulder and added apologetically, "I didn't mean to upset you I was just having fun."

Judy dropped the bag of food and the next thing Nick knew she turned around and jumped on him scaring him. Nick fell back onto the floor and was Judy on top of him, with one leg on each side of his toned upper body.

"Jesus, Carrots you scared me!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Ha, I got ya!" She laughed out overjoyed that she scared him.

Nick then realized what she had done, he had made a bet with her a few weeks back saying Judy could never scare him and if she did he would have to do all her paperwork for a week, but if she didn't within a month, she would have to do his paperwork.

"Dammit! How could I have fallen for that?" Nick asked now shocked over the fact that he lost.

"Because I'm a sly bunny and you're a dumb fox," she answered as she chuckled.

"How did you know that was going to work?" Nick asked with bewilderment.

Judy smiled, then replied with content, "I didn't, just hoped for the best, but I thought since you were extra flirty with me, I could play the, too emotional card and then scare you. It looks like it worked, now you need to do my paperwork for a whole week."

"Fine, a bet is a bet," Nick said with disappointment.

Judy smiled then kissed Nick on the lips before getting up and off him. Nick then pulled himself off the ground and got over his loss within seconds of standing.

Judy grabbed her keys that were hanging from the doorknob and placed them on her belt. Then, she picked up the bag of food and opened the door to hers and Nick's apartment. Nick closed the door behind him and turned on the entrance light, then he followed Judy into the living room, and he turned on the light in there as well. Judy dropped the bag of food on the coffee table then sat down on the couch behind it.

Their apartment had a decent sized kitchen with a table in it, but neither of them sat at it for dinner, the only time they actually used it was at breakfast.

Nick sat down beside Judy then reached for the bag of food, he grabbed it and pulled out a plastic bowl that had a lid on top. Inside the bowl was Judy's salad, he popped the top off and gave her the food, then he reached into the bag again pulling out a fork for Judy and his fried crickets which were also in a plastic container.

"Here you go Carrots," he said with a smile giving Judy her fork.

"Thanks, babe," she replied with content grabbing the fork from Nick's paw and immediately sticking it into her salad.

Nick opened his transparent plastic container of food and tossed a few fried crickets into his mouth.

They both quickly finished their dinner, so Nick decided to turn on the TV. Judy snuggled herself into Nick's torso laying her head on his abs; this is what they did for hours most nights before getting ready to call it a night.

When they did decide to get ready for bed, they both went to the bathroom and brushed their teeth before heading to their room.

Nick opened the door to their bedroom, and he walked in while Judy followed him.

"Hey Carrots, make sure the alarm is set for five-thirty that clock doesn't seem to know how to go off when told to do so," Nick ordered with a peaceful, yet serious tone.

Judy nodded her head then walked over to the night table on the left side of their bed, on it was the alarm clock Nick was talking about. She picked It up and fiddled with the alarm settings until she got the alarm set for five-thirty AM.

"There it is set," she said with a flat tone.

Nick walked up to Judy and kissed her on the forehead before he said with a pleased tone, "Thanks, Carrots we wouldn't want to be late to work now would we?"

"No I remember the last time the alarm didn't go off the chief was so pissed," Judy replied with a louder tone as she began to undress.

Nick chuckled and added with a happy tone, "he was furious." Then he said with a deeper mocking tone while he pointed at Judy, "if you two are late again I'll have your badges!"

They both laughed happily, and Judy asked with a joy in her voice, "isn't that what he said the time before that?

"Yeah," Nick replied with a smile as he too began to get undressed out of his police uniform.

As he was undressing, he took his gun with the holster and placed it on his night table where Judy had placed hers. He undid his belt and left it on the floor with his pants. Judy saw him do this and it bugged her for, she liked to keep the room clean.

Judy made a grunting noise and said with annoyance, "Nick I thought I told you to hang them up in the closet."

"Come on Carrots I'm going to put them back on me tomorrow morning, why is it such a big deal?" He asked with slight frustration yet still smiling.

"Because it looks messy," she said annoyed by Nick's reply.

"Alright if it will make you happy I'll put them in the closet," Nick replied smiling at Judy.

Nick picked up his pants and belt; then he walked over to the closet on the other side of the room. He opened the closet, and the light came on once the door was open. Nick grabbed a hanger and hung the pants and belt on it; then he hung the hanger in the closet beside the hanger with Judy's uniform.

Nick loosened his tie and removed it from around his neck, and he unbuttoned his shirt, then he placed them in the same hanger as his pants and belt.

Then he said with a calm tone after closing the closet doors, "there you go now they're not on the floor."

"Now was that so hard?" She asked with a smile and a chuckle.

Nick walked by the light switch and turned off the ceiling light, leaving only the lamp on the night table to the right of the bed lit up. Nick removed his underwear and tossed them into a hamper of dirty laundry which was in a corner by the door. Nick jumped into bed beside Judy who had already gotten into bed and finished removing all her clothing.

Nick finally replied to Judy with fake exhaustion, "it was extremely hard, I almost gave up."

"Uh huh," she added with a flat tone.

Nick shuffled closer to Judy, and she leaned against him, and Nick extended his arm around the back of Judy's neck.

Nick looked at her, and she looked at him, then Nick said with a calm, joyful, yet serious tone, "you know I love you, right?"

"Yes, I know, you tell me at least twice a day," she replied with a smile of joy.

Nick then removed his arm from around her neck, he turned his whole body to her and placed both of his paws on her shoulders.

"I love you so much I don't have words to describe it," he replied with joy, looking deep into her eye seeing the purple glow and glisten at him.

Judy smiled and also said with delight, "I love you too."

Nick picked up Judy and toppled over with her in his arms; he kissed Judy on the lips breaking it after five seconds.

"Have I ever said thank you?" Nick asked while he, looking up at Judy who was now on top of him. "For believing, I could be something more than just a con artist, for loving me, and for letting me love you," Nick replied with a loving tone.

"Yes Nick you tell me this at least once a month, if not more," she replied with content and a smile.

Judy then fell over making her face meet with his, and she gave him a kiss for a few seconds before breaking it and lifting herself up and back into her sitting position on Nick's chest.

"Come on let's get some sleep," Nick said happily.

Judy replied with content, "yeah, I am kind of tired."

Judy got off of Nick and laid down beside him. Nick reached for the lamp and turned it off before he pulled the blanket over them to stay warm.

Nick moved closer to Judy, and he wrapped himself around her, and he gave her one last kiss, this one being on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams Carrots," he whispered softly into Judy's ear.

Judy made a pleasant hum and readjusted herself, becoming more curled up in Nick's embrace and her head resting on his upper arm.

Soon she fell asleep in his arms which made her feel safe for; they were relatively toned, the red and orange fur felt soft and warm on her face. The rest of her body felt the same for Nick's whole body was muscled, and his fur was soft all over him, and it gave off warmth for Judy.

Nick eventually fell asleep to the feeling of Judy's small, curled up, body in his grasp.

* * *

"Ugh ... Uh ... Judy," Nick murmured to himself.

"Judy! He exclaimed in worry not being able to find her.

He looked around not finding her in the whole ZPD, then ... BANG! Nick heard a gunshot, and he looked from the upper floor of the ZPD, he saw Judy lying on the ground by the front desk.

"No!" He yelled in anger and terror.

Nick ran to the stairs he jumped onto the railing and slide down it when about half way down he jumped off it and rolled to break the fall, then he continued to run until he reached Judy. He stopped I front of her falling to his knees.

Blood pooled around her from the bullet hole in her chest.

"Judy!" He exclaimed with a sob.

Nick picked her up in both his arms and her head fell back.

"Wake up please wake up!" He cried out, tears falling from his face soaking his shirt.

Suddenly, Judy groaned and tried to lift her head, but couldn't, so Nick moved his paw up to support her head.

"Judy h-hang on I-I'll get you help," Nick cried out with fear she would not make it.

Judy coughed blood splattering out of her mouth hitting Nick in the face and chest.

"Nic-," Judy blurted out with immense pain.

Nick looked at her with a faint smile, not one of joy, but of sadness, his entire jaw trembling in fear.

"I lo- ... Love you," she stuttered out in pain.

"I love you too Carrots," Nick replied with a whimper of sadness.

Then she gave her last breath, her heart beating for the last time, and her eyes giving life and joy no more. Her blood continued to spill out of her onto Nick's legs.

Judy was gone, Nick's only true love gone, and it broke him. He held her body close to him as he rocked back-and-forth whimpering until there were no more tears left for him to cry.

Nick mumbled to himself bleakness, "I'm sorry ... Judy ... Forgive me ..." Then he screamed out in anger longing the world, "no!"

Then, he awoke.

Nick flung himself up pushing Judy away from him waking her. Nick sat on his bed looking into the darkness of the back of the bedroom. He was panting deeply making his chest rise and fall quickly and profoundly. His body sweating enough to soak his fur to dampness.

Judy was in a daze she sat up and looked at Nick in the moonlight shining through the window, she was confused over what had happened.

"Nick," she said with worry.

Nick looked at her still panting without control, and Judy looked at him with shock. She could see fear in his eyes something she had never seen before, and it scared her.

"Nick," she said again with distress.

Judy crawled across the bed towards Nick.

"What's wrong?" She asked with a caring voice; then she placed her paw on Nick's shoulder.

Nick looked at her straight into her purple eyes with his emerald, tear-filled eyes, he threw himself around her and held her tightly.

When Nick did this, she felt his sweat, and how it had soaked him, she could also feel his heartbeat and how it was faster than it had ever been.

Just wrapped her arms around Nick and they hugged for what felt like an eternity.

Nick's trembling began to fade, his heartbeat slowed to its regular speed, and the sweat that once covered him dried.

"I-I thought I lost you," Nick whispered into Judy's ear with a small whimper in his voice.

"Nick I'm right here, you're not going to lose me," she whispered back with a soft reassuring voice.

Nick pulled away from Judy and said with despair, "I ... I saw you, no, I felt you die in my arms!"

Nick began to breathe quickly and unsteadily as he exclaimed in terror, "I felt your blood on my paws, I could feel your last breath on my face, I ..."

Judy pulled Nick back into her embrace, and she rubbed the back of his head softly to try and calm him while she said calmly, "Breathe Nick, just breathe, it was only a nightmare."

Judy breathed in and out with him until he calmed again, then she broke away from him and looked at him in the moonlight and city lights.

"Judy, I'm petrified of losing you, you're the first one I've ever loved, and it scares me to think you're not going to be here forever," Nick said suddenly with a saddened tone. "And that dream it ... It felt so real I could feel your blood on my paws," he added with discomfort.

"Nick, look at me, it's over you're not going to lose me," Judy implored, while she held near the back Nick's head with both her paws.

"I-I'm sorry for waking you," Nick replied with a sniffle.

Judy let Nick's head go, and her arms fell to his.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart," Judy replied with a content tone and smile.

Judy again kissed Nick on the lips; however, this kiss was different it was more than just a simple kiss, it was a one of compassion.

"I love you, Judy," Nick whispered with passion.

"I know honey, and I love you too," Judy replied affectionately with a smile of content.

Nick and Judy went back into the position they were in before Nick's sudden awakening. Just soon fell back asleep, but Nick, however, couldn't sleep, for he feared if he did the dream would continue and he would have to feel the pain of her death once again.

* * *

 **Hello and thank you for reading the first chapter of my Zootopia fanfic.**

 **Please tell me what you think of the chapter by leaving a review, I always love to hear the readers feedback**

 **Until next time**


	2. Lethal Actions

Chapter Two: Lethal actions

We will do anything to protect the ones we love; it is part of our nature.

* * *

Nick watched as the clock turned to five-thirty AM, but before it could start to go off, he reached out with his arm that was free and tapped the off button causing the alarm to stop the moment it started.

Nick whispered to himself in disbelief, "there's no way it's five-thirty."

He sighed, then decided to wake up Judy. He carefully pulled his arm out from under her head, and he began to shake her ever so slightly.

"Carrots ... Carrots," he said with a soft tone.

Judy groaned, and her eyes slowly opened to see Nick's smile.

"Hey sleepy bunny," Nick said with a subtle smile of content.

"Hey," she replied with a groggy voice.

Nick moved away from Judy a few inches; then she sat up searching her arms up into the air, then they fell to her sides.

"Come on it's five-thirty," Nick said with an enthusiastic tone before pulling the blanket off of him.

"Nick we need to talk about last night," Judy replied with a serious voice.

Nick stopped from getting up, and he turned completely around and faced Judy while crossing his legs.

He asked with a flat tone "What is there to talk about that we didn't already discuss last night?"

"Nick you had a nightmare about me getting murdered, you need to speak to me about this," she replied with concern holding each of Nick's paws with both of hers.

"Judy it was just one bad dream I'll be fine," Nick said with a lacking concern for his mental health.

"Nick, please just tell me what's bothering you enough to do this to you," Judy begged with grave concern for her husband.

Nick sighed, then he replied with a more hesitant and worrying voice, "I ... I'm terrified t-that I'm going to lose you to some fucked up criminal."

Judy looked at Nick with slight shock in her eyes; she knew Nick feared to lose her, she feared to lose him as well. However, the way he told her how scared he was, plus the nightmare, told her Nick couldn't bare to deal with the pain of losing her.

Nick added with a brittle tone, "Judy I don't want to lose you, you're my only family, you're all I have."

Judy saw Nick's fear and did the only thing she could; she comforted him, she hugged him and replied with a sympathetic voice, "you're not going to lose me; I won't let it happen."

She broke their hug and looked at Nick with a smile.

"Just promise me you'll be safe while we're at work today?" Nick begged with a sniffle while he looked at Judy who was smiling with content.

"I will," she replied before giving Nick a quick kiss on the lips.

Nick smiled at her, then he replied with a sudden change in tone from brittle to cheerful, "now come on let's get ready."

He jumped out of bed and practically ran to the closet without a single piece of clothing. He opened the door and grabbed his clothes, then he grabbed Judy's uniform and tossed it next to her on the bed.

"Someone is in a hurry," Judy exclaimed, grabbing the clothes Nick tossed to her.

Nick stood facing the closet, holding his belt with almost everything he normally had on it besides the gun and holster, he thought in his head, "how could I have lost it?" Nick then turned around and replied with joy, "well we only have twenty-five minutes to eat, walk to the train station, and clock in at the ZPD."

Judy stood up, still nude she walked over to their dresser which was beside the closet. She opened a drawer filled with her undergarments, and she pulled out a pair of light blue panties.

"Hey, can pass me a pair of my underwear?" Nick ordered with a content tone.

Judy opened the drawer beside the one already opened in it was Nick's boxers, she grabbed a pair and tossed it to him, and he got it mid-air.

"Thanks, Carrots," he added with a grin.

Nick slipped on his underwear and quickly pulled up a pair of dark blue, uniform pants. He grabbed his white undershirt, and Nick slipped it on. He grabbed his uniform jacket, then slipped it on; lastly, he grabbed his tie and tied it around his neck.

While He got dressed Judy was doing the same, she already had her panties on, so she pulled up her pants which had foot grips at the bottom, Judy slipped her feet into them and tightened the straps. Next, she pushed her arms through the sleeves of her uniform zipping it up the middle when her arms were in the sleeves.

"You ready?" Nick asked with a grin while he was adjusting his belt.

Judy grabbed her vest and stuck her head through the top hole them her arms went through the other two holes which were for them. She didn't wear her vest as often as when she first started at the ZPD; Judy knew they only gave her a bulletproof vest and no one else one because of her size, so she proved to them she didn't need one. However, today was different Nick asked her to be careful, so wearing the vest was the best way to satisfy his fear.

"I'm good," she replied with a subtle smile.

Nick and Judy left their bedroom they walked through the living room and right into the kitchen. Nick opened a cabinet and inside was a few types of cereal; he grabbed a box of Lucky Chumps, and he placed it on the small table near the upper left corner of their kitchen.

Meanwhile, Judy was grabbing almond milk from their fridge, she pulled out the carton and placed it beside the cereal Nick had just put on the table.

Nick walked back over to the counter and opened the cabinet mounted to the wall behind it. Inside were bowls and a beside the bowls was a container of disposable plastic spoons. He grabbed two of them and walked up to his chair at the table.

"Here you go Carrots," Nick joyfully spoke as he gave Judy a bowl and spoon.

Judy poured the Lucky Chumps into her bowl; then Nick did the same while she poured the almond milk into the cereal.

"Here," she said subtly, yet suddenly right before passing Nick the milk.

"Thanks," he replied smiling at Judy showing his teeth right before pouring the milk into his bowl.

Both of them began to chomp down on their food as fast as they could, and after a few minutes, they finished.

Nick got up and grabbed both his and Judy's dishes before he walked over to the sink and placed them in it running a bit of water to rinse them. As he cleaned the dishes, Judy was putting the milk back into the fridge.

"Alright let's go," Nick graciously said as he walked to the front entrance

Judy was confused, normally she was the one trying to get Nick to hurry up, but today it was the other way around. However, she dismissed it because she thought he was just trying to forget about his unpleasant experience.

Judy went Nick to the door; he opened it, and they walked out. She turned around and closed the door, she pulled out her keys and shoved in the one to their apartment into the doorknob; she twisted it, and it locked.

"Alright let's go," Judy said with content.

Nick nodded and again smiled this one, however, not having teeth visible, then he started to walk away from their door towards the stairs, for their apartment was on the second floor. Judy followed him, and they both rushed down the stairs and passed through the double doorway, which led outside.

Luckily they only had to walk two blocks to get to the train station, living two streets down from the subway station worked out perfectly for them. Thanks to Nick's abnormally fast passed walking which perplexed Judy; they reached the subway within five minutes of leaving their home.

When they reached the subway the train was just pulling in, and they could barely hear themselves over all the noise of not just the train screeching to a stop, but the animals around them having conversations trying to all speak over one another.

"Just in the nick of time," Nick said sarcastically and loudly as he and Judy walked off the platform and onto the train.

"You just have to make puns with your name, don't you?" Judy asked with a giggle, for he had made jokes with his name many times before and they were so dumb they were funny.

Nick sat down in his usual seat on the train, and Judy sat beside him leaning against his shoulder, just like she did every morning.

Nick replied with a tone of forced earnestness as he tried to hide his smile, "yes I must."

In front of them was a lion named James, he was someone who they had gotten to know in the few years they would take the train to work.

James watched as they laughed, he smiled at them and said with a polite voice, right as the train began to move, "Good morning Mr. & Mrs. Wilde. How are you are you two doing on this beautiful, sunny morning?"

"Oh hi James," Judy said with a surprised voice, for she didn't even notice him until he spoke. "We're good, how about yourself?" She then asked happily, as she sat up fixing her posture.

"I'm doing okay, just have a long day ahead of me, lots of paperwork to sift through," the lion replied, calmly, yet with modest disconnect, for he didn't want to do paperwork.

Nick spoke up with a happy tone, "Well our day is going to be boring and uneventful, we have a double shift and the first one we need to patrol Savannah Central; nothing happens there, too many cops and cameras for any animal to even consider breaking the law."

"Well I'd much rather be doing that over paperwork," James chuckled out.

"Well doesn't matter what job you have there is always paperwork," Nick replied with a calm smile.

"Yeah and now you have to do both of our paperwork," Judy added with a grin and subtle chuckle.

"Let me guess you lost that bet, didn't you?" James asked with a joyful tone, for he knew about Nick and Judy's bet and he hoped Nick would lose.

"Haha how amusing," Nick replied with a sarcastic faked chuckle. "The odds were against me anyway," he added with defeat.

Suddenly the train stopped, and a voice said over the speakers where they had stopped.

"Well we will talk to you tomorrow James, gotta run," Nick said politely right before standing up and pulling Judy up with him.

"Have a good day you two!" James exclaimed with a smile yelling over the crowd of animals that were making their way in and out of the train.

Nick and Judy swiftly pushed their way through the crowd without actually hitting anyone. They walked out of the station and onto the street.

"Come on," Nick said with content as they both walked down the sidewalk.

Nick sped up his pace, causing Judy to have to do the same, and in a few minutes of leaving the train, they reached ZPD percent one.

Nick and Judy walked up to the front entrance and went through the smaller door that was next to the larger one. When they walked in Ben Clawhauser could be seen with fake upon files and documents on his desk. Nick only waved to him while he made Judy follow him straight to the stairs to head to the briefing room.

Clawhauser spoke up suddenly, standing up out of his chair, while waving down both of them, "there's no briefing today!"

Both cops stopped in their tracks, Nick turned around, and Judy did the same, and they looked at the cheetah with bewilderment.

"What do you mean there is no briefing, isn't Chief Bogo here?" Judy asked looking and sounding surprised.

"No he's not actually," Ben replied with concern while sitting back down in his seat.

"W-What happened?" Judy asked with worry and confusion, as she walked up to the front desk.

"A-All he told me over the phone was, he had a very personal matter to attend to," he said with a hesitant tone. "H-He also; Nick everyone their duties if they did not know what they had to do," he added with less hesitation in his voice as he moved mountains of files out of his sight.

"Hey, guys this is Thelonious we're talking about whatever he's doing he can handle by himself," Nick said without a worry in his tone.

"I-I don't know Nick it must be severe enough for him to skip work, he comes in even when he's sick," the worried cheetah exclaimed with apprehension. "W-What if he needs our help, but he doesn't want it, what if the personal matter is something darker than what he told me?" He added with even more fear in his voice. "What ... What if he's hunting someone and he gets shot?" He added with worry as he paws began to shake.

Nick spoke up with reassurance stopping Ben from continuing, "Listen to me Spots, the chief is a brick wall if he was dealing with a dangerous criminal, which I highly doubt, he's not going to get hurt."

Judy suddenly spoke with a calm less worried tone, "Nick's right Clawhauser, Chief Bogo will be okay.

Clawhauser took a deep breath and replied with less fear in his voice, "maybe you're right, b-but I'm still worried about him."

Judy knew that the chief was more than capable of handling himself. However, she too was worried; but she hid it well. The Chief never missed work, and that's what worried her the most, it had to be something worthy of some worry if it was bad enough to keep him away from the ZPD.

After a few moments of silence, Nick clapped his paws and said with his signature grin and a cheery voice, "Well we already know what we're doing today, so I guess let's just hop right to it."

"That one doesn't work anymore, my last name isn't Hopps anymore," Judy replied with a chuckle for she knew Nick was trying to be funny so that Clawhauser wouldn't feel as worried.

"Damn that's right, well I guess we need to change your last name again," Nick laughed out.

"Not gonna happen, I'm spending another two hundred bucks to do that" she added with a grin on her face.

They both chuckled as Nick started to slip away while Judy said with a satisfied tone, "we'll see you later okay."

"You might want to catch up with Nick," he replied pointing behind Judy at Nick who was in front of the elevator which was about to open.

"Thanks, Ben!" She exclaimed as she began to run towards Nick.

"Better hurry up Carrots," Nick said as he clicked the button in the elevator.

Judy ran faster and jumped into the elevator right as the door closed.

"What was that about?" She asked with confusion and slight anger.

"Nothing you're just slow, that's all," Nick replied as he leaned back against the wall.

"Judy began to get up off the ground and asked with an annoyed tone and look, "what's up with you, why are you in such a hurry today?"

Then as she was getting up, she noticed Nick's belt didn't have his badge on it.

"Nick where's your badge?" She asked suddenly with less anger as she straightened herself.

"Shit!" Nick thought to himself. "Uh ... I ... I lost it okay," he replied hesitantly looking at Judy with disappointment in himself.

"That's why you're in such a hurry you wanted to look for it and find it before I discovered that you had lost it," Judy said with a calm tone Lacking anger.

"Y-Yeah, I thought you would be super mad over this, losing a badge is a serious thing," Nick said with relief, for Judy wasn't as angry as he thought she would be.

"Nick I'm not mad I'm disappointed, you should have told me you lost your badge, I'm your wife I'd help you look for it," she replied with a calm voice while she looked at Nick with dissatisfaction.

Then the elevator dinged, and the doors opened, and they could see into the parking garage which was one of two places police cars were parked the second one being outside beside the ZPD.

They walked out into the dimmed lit room, and the doors closed behind them.

Nick stopped and turned to Judy he bent down to become eye level with her, and he said with an apologetic voice, "look, Judy, I'm sorry I just didn't want you to get mad at me." Then he added with a subtle smile, "forgive me?"

Judy looked at him for a few short seconds with a flat smile; then it turned into a happier one, and she replied with content, "you're forgiven ... officer Wilde."

Nick gave Judy a quick hug, then he stood up straight, and he said with a calm tone, "Well I think I lost it in the patrol car, so we'll check there."

"Okay let's go," Judy replied with a clean tone.

They both started to walk through the parking lot passing patrol cars that were too large for them ever to drive, undercover vehicles, and cars used by detectives who don't own their vehicle.

Soon they reached the end of the large parking lot, and there was their patrol car designed to fit their size.

Nick walked up to the driver side door, he grabbed his keys from his belt and clicked the electrically unlock button on the top of the key. The clicking sound echoed throughout the large room as the four doors unlocked.

Judy opened the door on the passenger side, but instead of getting into the car she looked under the seat for Nick's badge, and Nick did the same on his side.

Eventually, Nick gave up on finding it under the seat, so he stood up and asked Judy with a hoping voice, "is it on your side?"

Judy replied with vexation as she too gave up on finding the badge under the seats, "no it's not."

"I-I'm screwed if I lost it for good Bogo is going to be furious," Nick replied with worry and self-disappointment.

"Nick we still have a lot of the car to go through just keep looking I'm sure we'll find it," Judy replied trying to convince Nick he would find his badge. "I'll check in between the seat and the middle armrest," She added with optimism.

Nick opened the side door to look in the back seat while Judy hopped into the front. She looked through the compartments, but found nothing; then she shoved her arm between the seat and middle armrest. Judy moved her arm around until she felt the cold metal that made up a police badge. Judy rubbed her fingers against it, and she could feel three engraved letters that spelled ZPD.

"Nick I found it!" Judy exclaimed with overjoy as she pulled out her arm with the badge in her paw.

Nick jumped out of the back seat and bent over the front seat looking up at Judy holding were that had the name Nichols P. Wilde engraved on it right below ZPD.

"Thanks, carrots, I thought for sure I was done for," Nick said with complete ease and relief.

Judy gave Nick the badge, and he quickly kissed her with joy.

"Now promise me that if you lose it again, you'll tell me right away," Judy demanded.

"I promise," Nick replied with a smile before he got out of the car to shut the back door of the car on his side.

Then he jumped back into the driver seat closing the door beside him; Judy pulled her door shut, and she strapped her seatbelt on, then Nick did so as well. He grabbed the keys to the car which he had placed back onto his belt, and he stuck it into the ignition and twisted it forward. The engine began to hum, the headlights lit up, and the air conditioning turned on blowing cold air on them.

"Ah, that is cold!" Nick exclaimed in surprise to the temperature of the air.

He reached for the knob that controlled the AC, and he flicked it off, later he knew it would be needed, but at the moment it wasn't hot enough outside to be needed.

He flicked the car from park to drive, and he moved it forward pulling out of their parking spot. He drove forward and headed for the ramp up to the exit.

"Nick," Judy suddenly said as they were pulling out of the darkness and into the light of day.

"Yeah Carrots," he replied with a smile giving just a glimpse at her before looking back at the road in front of them.

"Do ... Do you think the Chief is going to be fine?" Judy asked with her worry for him surfacing.

"Honestly I don't know Carrots, if it were a personal matter as in something involving his wife, then I would say probably, but if it weren't, then I would say maybe," Nick replied without making any eye contact with her.

Judy's ears fell, she was hoping Nick could reassure her that the chief was going to be okay. She hated not knowing what was happening and she loathed that she couldn't do anything about it.

Nick came up to a stoplight; he stopped the car at the light which had turned red, and when he did so he turned his attention to Judy.

Nick reached out to Judy, and he placed his paw on Judy's shoulder, and he said with a calm tone, "Listen, Carrots I wish I could tell you Bogo will be okay. However, that would be false hope because what if he isn't fine, then it would have only made it worse for you."

"I hope nothing happened to him and his wife," Judy replied with worry.

"Carrots, Janet is Bogo's world he loves her more than his job, the only bad thing that could break them apart would be for one of them to die, and I'm positive that's not the case," he said with reassurance.

The light turned green, so Nick let go of Judy's shoulder placing it back on the steering wheel, then sped up and continued to look ahead of them.

Judy leaned back into her seat, then replied with a softer, less worried voice, "I guess you're right, I shouldn't worry."

* * *

Nick and Judy patrolled the inner roads of Savannah Central until one o'clock, which is when their lunch break started.

"Nothing I told you, no one is stupid enough to try anything in this part of Zootopia," Nick said suddenly as he still paid attention to the road.

Judy glimpsed at Nick then; her ears rose from the usual position as she replied happily, "I guess you're right; anyway, I'm hungry."

"I'm starving, so pick somewhere to eat," Nick replied with a content tone and grin.

Judy gave it some thought while her ears were falling slightly she decided where to go. She remembered that there was a restaurant near where they were that Clawhauser said was magnificent.

Her ears perked up, and she answered with joy, "there's a diner just up the road Ben said it was good, why don't we go there."

"All right mysterious restaurant it is," Nick replied happily.

Nick drove up the road, and he carefully parallel parked on the street beside the restaurant, then he turned the key, and the engine stopped.

Nick looked out the window of the car and read the name of the diner, "Harmony, huh unusual name for a place that sells food."

They unstrapped themselves from the seats, then they both exited the car Judy first shutting her door fast the forcefully, making a loud smack, then Nick closed his door subtlety yet hard enough to close it all the way.

"Someone needs to eat," Nick said sarcastically with a grin.

"I'm starving, what do you think!" She asked with sarcasm.

Nick walked from the driver side of the car and onto the sidewalk, then he patted Judy's head pushing her ears to the side, her eyes squinting as he patted her.

"Well let's fix that problem," Nick replied happily.

They started walking up the diner when a ferret bumped into Nick pushing him to the side close to the edge of the sidewalk.

Nick apologized for bumping into him. Even though the ferret even to see him, "Oh sorry sir."

The ferret just kept walking down the sidewalk not turning around, even to see Nick apologizing.

Nick felt his side when he felt his holster, he looked at it, empty. He looked to see it wasn't on the ground, but in the paw of the ferret.

"Judy he stole my gun!" Nick exclaimed pointing at the gun in the ferret's paw.

The ferret heard him, so he gripped the gun harder then started to run.

"shit, Judy go around I'll follow him, and you cut him off!" Nick exclaimed as he began running towards the ferret.

Judy nodded, then she began to sprint to the left to go up an alleyway to cut off the ferret. Nick, however, ran after him hoping to catch him.

Nick got up to the ferret who had turned into an alley. He jumped taking the animal down, but the ferret pushed him and managed to get up. Nick struggled to keep him down, as well as trying to get the gun from him. The ferret kicked Nick and run up from him; Nick went to get up, but when he did, the ferret pointed the gun at him and shot.

BANG!

Judy heard the gunshot, and once she turned the corner she saw Nick and the ferret, Nick was on the ground screaming in pain and the ferret was aiming to shoot again, and this time he wouldn't miss.

Judy pointed her gun at the ferret and shouted, "Hey!"

The ferret turned his head to see Judy with her gun on him; then the trigger was pulled.

BANG!

The gunshot echoed, the ferret made a subtle thump as he dropped to the ground with a bullet wound in his right eye, and his blood quickly surrounded him.

Judy ran past the corpse of the ferret and fell onto her knees beside Nick, who was now on his knees, moaning in pain as blood spilled through the cracks of his fingers onto his face and shoulder. His paws were covered in blood as he tried to hold his left ear.

"Judy call it in and get an ambulance here! Fuck," Nick yelled in pain clenching his ear tightly.

Judy grabbed her radio off her belt, she clicked a button then spoke into the radio with a quick and worried tone, "dispatch this is officer Judy Wilde, my partner; Nick Wilde, he has been shot by a ferret with a ninety-two-SB, it was his gun."

"Officer Wilde, what is your location?" The voice calmly asked over the radio.

"I'm on the southeast end of the fourth avenue in Savannah Central forty-five feet from a diner called Harmony," Judy quickly replied still sounding worried over Nick who was trying to hold back his moans of pain.

"Officer Wilde, what is the state of the shooter?" The voice asked with a stern tone.

Judy looked over at the body of the ferret, the blood coming from the bullet hole slacked his clothing and stained the pavement.

Judy looked back towards Nick then answered with a subdued tone, "dead."

"The ambulance is on its way with more officers, in will be there within ten minutes," the animals from dispatch replied over the radio still sounding calm.

Then, Nick yelled out in pain, "tell them to hurry the fuck up!"

Judy's ears had fallen, then she said with worry, grave concern, "Nick I need to see the wound."

"J-Just please be careful" he replied with pain.

"I will," she replied calmly.

Nick slowly began to move his paws, both of them trembling in pain, but once he had moved his paws the air hitting it stung and he grabbed his ear again in pain. Nick breathed in and out slowly to try and ease himself; then he moved his paws again this time not clenching his ear when the air hit it.

Nick's whole left ear was soaked in blood, but it was evident where the bullet had hit. Halfway down the outer part of his ear was gone, ripped to shreds by the bullet.

Judy looked at it in horror; she had seen wounds before, some much worse than Nick's, but the fact that it was on Nick made her disgusted.

Nick groaned as the wind hit him, then he asked Judy with a calm tone as he tried to hone how much pain he was in, "H-How bad is it?"

Judy looked into Nick's eyes and replied hesitantly, "it's ... Going to need stitches."

Then a gust of wind came hitting Nick's ear, so he grabbed it and groaned.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed in pain as his paws once again covered his wound.

Suddenly in the distance, faint sirens could be heard that quickly became louder with every passing second. Soon an ambulance arrived pulling into the alley which was large enough for a truck to fit in.

An EMT jumped out of the passenger seat and rushed towards Nick and Judy.

"Are you alright?" The tiger asked calmly.

"Do I look fine to you?" Nick asked with sarcasm yet pain.

The EMT replied calmly, disregarding Nick's sarcasm, "can you come over to the ambulance for me?"

Nick stood up, and Judy helped support him, for he had lost a decent amount of blood. They walked over to the back of the white truck, and the Tiger opened the door giving Nick a spot to sit. Nick sat down on the edge, and Judy stood beside him.

Then the second EMT got out of the ambulance and headed to the body of the ferret to see the condition of him. He saw the bullet wound was in the head, so he dropped a cover over the body to hide it from any passing pedestrians. while the second EMT did this the first one was preparing to stitch Nick's ear.

"Listen to me carefully; I need to clean out the wound, so you need to move your paws, but I warn you this is going to hurt," the Tiger said with a calm, stern tone as he wet a cloth with rubbing alcohol and water.

Nick agreed then moved his paws once again away from his ear, then the tiger came up to him and bent down slightly. He barely touched Nick's ear, and he groaned in pain, then the EMT started to rub the ear to clean off blood and disinfect it. Nick held back on showing his pain as best he could to groan only a few times. Soon the EMT finished cleaning the wound, and it became apparent Nick's ear was missing a significant portion. The outer middle was gone halfway inward, the new edge the bullet had made was ridged and looked mutilated.

As the EMT began to stitch the part of Nick's ear that was ripped open, two cop cars pulled up at the beginning of the ally. Then, a black car pulled up beside them, and a male lion stood up out of the car closing the door behind him.

"Get this area secured!" He exclaimed to the officers that had also gotten out of their cars.

Meanwhile, the EMT finished stitching Nick's ear and had begun to wrap Nick's ear with gauze, then medical tape.

Once he finished he said with content, "there all done, now you've lost a good amount of blood, but enough for you to need more now, but enough for you to become tired quickly. So, you will need to get some extra sleep to help your body regenerate its blood."

Nick nodded, then he stood up and turned around, he grabbed a few cloths and wet them with water from the ambulance, Nick cleaned his face of the now dry blood. As he was doing this, the lion that had come to investigate the crime walked up to them.

"Officers Judy and Nick Wilde," the lion said with a flat tone.

"That's us," Judy replied looking up at the lion who had quite the amount of height on them.

"I'm sergeant detective Eric short," he replied with a stern tone, as he looked down upon them. "I'm sure you know how this works I'll need to take both weapons into evidence and once the investigation is over they will be returned to you," he added with less of a clean tone.

Eric gave Judy an evidence bag; she pulled her gun out of the holster placing it in the bag; then she zipped it up passing it back to the lion.

"My gun, it's with the body," Nick said while he rubbed his head, for it was pounding causing him pain.

"Everything will be cataloged and placed into evidence," he replied calmly. "Again I'm sure you know how this works, but I'm going to tell you anyway, you two are suspended from field duty until I have finished my investigation. It shouldn't take long a day or two, in that time you two can file reports over this."

"Okay," Judy also said calmly.

"Now as for you," Eric said suddenly pouting down at Nick. "You need to go home and get some rest an injury to the head like this will give you headaches," he added with a serious tone.

Nick rubbed his head then replied with an annoyed tone for his head hurt, "you mean as it is now?"

"Yes, now I want those reports by the latest Friday morning," the lion said calmly, as to not aggravate Nick's headache.

"I'll get them to you by tomorrow afternoon?" Judy said confidently, her ears perking up once she finished speaking.

"Now both of you get out of here," Eric said suddenly pointing to the street.

Judy saluted as she always did even though it wasn't necessary, then she pulled Nick along with her leaving the ally and heading to their parked patrol car.

"Carrots, don't be so rough," Nick ordered still sounding in pain.

"I-I'm sorry I just needed to get away from there," she replied with a lower less content voice.

"Carrots are you okay?" Nick asked with concern.

Judy cleared her throat, then replied with a more lively tone, which was apparently forced, "Yeah I'm fine just didn't want to see all that blood." Then, she asked suddenly, changing the subject, "you want me to drive?"

Nick figured confronting her about her distress in public wouldn't be a good idea, so he went along with her, even if her excuse wasn't believable.

"Please, my head is pounding," he replied with a calm, but uncollected tone.

They reached their car, and since Judy was going to drive Nick tossed her the keys, Judy catching them mid-air.

Judy spoke up with a flat tone, over the sound of traffic, "We will just drive home, no point going to the ZPD without our reports, and you need to get some rest."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me," he replied with annoyance.

Judy unlocked the car and jumped into the driver seat. Nick being in pain, opened the passenger side and slid into the seat slowly making sure not to hit his head or ear off of something, then he shut his door with just enough force to shut it all the way. Judy saw him do this and figured she should do the same, and she did so.

"You know I may have gotten shot, but I'm still hungry," Nick said with a happy tone as he adjusted his seat.

"Nick, how can you be this happy all of a sudden? You almost died, and I killed someone," Judy replied with a curious, yet serious tone.

"I'm happy I didn't die because if I did, I wouldn't be able to see you again," he replied trying to hide the pain he was in from a splitting headache and the throbbing in his ear. "So, what do you want to eat?" He asked with a smile.

Judy sighed then answered Nick's question with a calm, yet flat tone, "I could go for some steamed vegetables."

"I'll order from The Fable Lion, our favorite," Nick said with a quiet yet cheerful voice.

"Oh they make the best, steamed vegetables," she replied softly.

Nick shoved his paw into the front pocket of his pants and grabbed his phone; he opened the calling app and dialed the restaurant.

The phone rang twice, then the other line was picked up, and a female voice asked with a pleased tone, "good afternoon this is The Fable Lion, what can I help you with today?"

When the animal on the other end of the phone call spoke, Nick held his forehead in pain as he made a squinting face. So, he held the phone slightly further away from his right ear so the animal wouldn't sound as loud.

"Yeah, may I place an order pickup?" Nick asked holding back his groans.

"Yes you can, what would you like to order?" She replied cheerfully.

"Can I get a medium sized bowl of steamed vegetables, and a small breaded fish?" Nick ordered.

The animal was silent for a few short seconds, then replied happily, "Okay, the medium bowl of steamed vegetables and small, breaded fish, will be ready for payment and pick up in ten minutes."

"Thanks," Nick said quietly, right before ending the call and pushing his phone back into his pocket. He sighed, then leaned back into the seat, accidentally hitting his ear against it, causing him to exclaimed in pain, "Ow, that hurt!"

"You okay?" Judy asked with concern for him.

"I'm okay, Carrots," Nick replied forcing his torturous torment behind a smile of content.

Judy looked at him, she saw his pain, as she zoned out she asked herself, "how could I have let this happen, to my husband?"

Then, she came back to reality, Judy turned on the car, then pulled the car away from the side of the road and into traffic. She knew where the restaurant was, so she headed there.

While they were driving Nick pulled down the visor, on it was a mirror, he looked into it trying to see how much of his ear was left. However, he couldn't see the damage, for it was covered by the bandages protecting it from infection, but he figured it was bad. The look on Judy's face and the constant burning sensation in his ear told him so.

"Hey Carrots, how bad do you think it will look when it heals," Nick asked suddenly yet seriously.

Judy had seen the damage, how badly his ear was torn apart. However, she didn't want to lie to Nick about how bad it was, but she didn't want to have to tell him that either.

"I-I'm ... I'm sorry, Nick," she answered with sympathy while trying to keep her attention on the road.

Nick replied with a less happy and more hesitant tone as he looked at Judy who felt like it was her fault, "It's okay ... I ... I think it'll be fine once it heals."

She didn't reply all she did was continue to drive, eventually reaching the restaurant which was only a few blocks away from their apartment. Since Nick had a never-ending headache, Judy decided to pick up the food. She pulled up into the parking lot of the restaurant and put the car in park. However, she left it running, for she would only be gone for a few minutes.

"I'll be right back," Judy said with a flat tone, right before clicking the red button that held her seatbelt in place, releasing it making the belt zip up into a hole.

She opened the car door and stood out of the air conditioned car and into the scorching heat that filled the air of downtown Zootopia. Judy closed the door behind her, then started walking towards the door of the restaurant. She walked in and straight up to the smaller cashier that was for animals around her size.

Once Judy stood in front of the cashier a female badger asked with joyful delight, "Hello, Welcome to The Fable Lion, what can I get you today?"

"I'm here to pick up an order, it's a medium bowl of steamed vegetables and a small breaded fish," Judy replied with a stale voice.

Then, the badger noticed who she was, so she asked with a content tone speaking over the noise of animals who were sitting at tables shouting, "aren't you Judy Hopps?"

"Y-Yes ... Well no and yes, I go by Judy Wilde now," she replied trying not to confuse herself.

"I guess that's who I talked to when getting this order," the badger assumed happily.

"Yes, now I don't mean to be rude, but I would like my order now," Judy replied trying to hide her annoyance and impatience behind a kind gentle voice.

"Oh yes I'll be right back," she said quickly, running off to where orders were kept. Then, after a minute she came back with Judy's and Nick's food, and she said with delight while passing Judy the bag, "here you go that will be twenty-five dollars and forty cents."

Judy pulled out her wallet and grabbed her debit card; she tapped it the card instantly paying for the food.

"Thanks," is all she said picking up the bag from the counter and walking out

Judy came up to the car, and she opened the door she got into her seat, then closed the door.

"Alright let's go home," she said with an emotionless tone, while she placed their food on the middle armrest between the two front seats.

They drove for a few minutes soon reaching their apartment building. Before they got married, Nick lived in it on his own, and with all the money he made from his previous job he could afford it on his own too. That wasn't the case any longer, surprisingly cops don't get paid as much as some think, but now that they both lived in Nick's charming apartment, they were able to afford living there.

Judy parked the police car in the parking lot beside the building, she turned it off and pulled out the car key which was attached to a chain with four more keys. They both left their car, and Judy locked it. Usually, they would talk, and Nick would make jokes while they were heading home from work, but today that didn't happen, for they didn't speak a word.

Nick and Judy walked from the parking lot and right into the front entrance of their building. Judy grabbed one of the keys on the chain and stuck it into the door. They walked through the hallway up the stairs and right into another corridor, they walked through it until they came up to their apartment door. Judy then separated another from the four and shoved it into the door twisting it one way then back unlocking the door.

Once inside they did what they always did, turned on lights walked into the living room with their food and began eating it.

Then, suddenly Nick spoke up with a concerned voice, "Judy ... We need to talk about today."

Judy was silent, sitting on the couch staring at her food.

"Judy," he said again sounding concerned.

"We don't need to talk about it okay," she replied with annoyance.

Nick placed his plate with the fish on the coffee table, and he turned to Judy who hadn't even touched her food.

"Nick I'm all right, it's you I'm worried about, you need rest," she added with a smile trying to hide her discontent.

Nick placed his right paw on Judy's shoulder, he looked into her purple eyes, showing caring and worry for her through his own eyes.

"Nick I ...," she said before he stopped her by placing his finger on her lips.

Nick spoke with a calm, soft voice after removing his finger from his mouth, "What you did today saved my life; I know you hate having to do that, trust me, I do too, but if you didn't kill that ferret I would be dead. Don't bottle this up it will only end in disaster."

Judy looked into Nick's eyes, and a tear dropped from hers. Nick wiped the tear from her face, and he moved closer to her.

She hugged Nick, and with a sniffle, she said, "I hate doing this."

Judy started to cry, and as she let out tears, Nick held her closer to him and cooed into her ear, "It'll be okay just let it all out." After a few minutes, Judy stopped crying, and Nick asked her calmly, "why did you try to hide this from me? You know it's not possible to keep anything from me."

"I ... I just don't want you to worry so much about me," she hesitantly replied.

"W-Why?" He asked confused why she wouldn't want him to be concerned for her well-being.

Judy pulled away looking into his eyes she answered with a sniffle and more calm tone, "Because after night with the nightmare you had I didn't want to add to the worry for my safety or well-being." Then she added with a louder more pitiful voice, "seeing you terrified like you were last night scares me, Nick I don't want to see you like that ever again."

Nick hugged her again then replied with reassurance, "It was just a nightmare it's not going to happen again I promise you that."

"A-Are you sure?" She asked worryingly.

"I'm positive Carrots, positive," he replied with confidence, a confidence he was sure of being true.

The whole time they talked Nick was in pain, but he hid it even while they were hugging, being completely silent, Nick felt pounding on his head and throbbing in his ear. While he rubbed the back of Judy's ears to calm her and give her subtle pleasure, Nick felt pain, and it was starting to show.

"Nick," Judy calmly said as she felt his warmth.

"Mmhm," Nick mumbled failing to hide his suffering.

"I love you," she replied with pure affection.

"I love you too, Carrots," he said with a pain in his voice.

Judy pulled away from their hug, and she saw Nick doing his best to control his suffering, but knew he couldn't. Nick had already taken a few pills of ibuprofen, but it had done next to nothing to ease the pain. So, Judy figured there was one way to ease it, she pulled Nick into a kiss, at first Nick was surprised, but he quickly became accustomed to it. The kiss lasted for nearly twenty seconds, but to them, it felt like forever.

Judy broke the kiss, and they both panted hard, she blurted out with a shortness of breath, "Let me help you with the pain."

Nick asked confused as to how a kiss could help ease his suffering, "H-How will this help?"

"Trust me," she replied as she moved closer to Nick.

Judy started to kiss Nick in more places than just his lips she helped him remove his police jacket, then his shirt under it. When she pulled off the white T-shirt, she made sure it didn't hit his ear.

"Judy ...," Nick said before she interrupted him.

"Shh," she said as her kisses made their way to his more intimate parts.

"N-No I wanted to say, let's go to our room," Nick replied with a grin knowing full well what was about to happen.

Nick sat up; then he picked up Judy who wrapped her legs around his waist. He stood up then walked through the living room and a small hallway that led to their bedroom. Nick pushed open the door with his foot, and he walked into the chamber. He fell forward onto their bed, and he kissed Judy who, was under him, then she let go of his waist with her legs, and Nick fell beside her.

"Carrots," Nick said suddenly with a calm, soft tone.

"Yeah," she replied turning to him on her side.

"My zipper is stuck, can you get it for me?" Nick said with a grin a small chuckle.

Judy laughed, then she sat up and pulled off her vest, then she unzipped her uniform pulling the top off, revealing her chest to him. Once she did so, Judy shuffled on her knees until she was near Nick's waist. She reached for his pants and got the zipper unstuck and unzipped them. She pulled them down and tossed them on the ground. Judy reached for him and felt his bulge which was covered by his white boxer briefs.

Nick looked at Judy who was rubbing her paw against him; he chuckled then said with a grin, "heh, What can I say? You're quite good at foreplay."

Judy smiled back at him; then she pulled down his underwear his privates flying out at her.

"Uh sorry about that," Nick said with a grin.

Judy smiled back at him having no problem with what happened. Then, began to kiss him in the most intimate of places and eventually, those kisses turned into licking, then sucking.

Nick made subtle moans for the pleasure was slowly becoming stronger than the pain in his ear. After a few minutes, Judy pushed him deeper into her mouth making his moans of pleasure louder with every move she made.

"I-I ... C-Can't," Nick stumbled out.

Then Nick reached his release, the overwhelming pleasure making the pain he felt from the gunshot disappear, and when this happened, Judy pulled away coughing a few times before falling in between his legs face up.

Both of them were panting rapidly; then Nick said with a loss of breath, "Holy shit."

They both laid there for a few minutes, but Judy was not yet finished, she sat up and pulled off her pants and her panties at the same time. Now she was also completely nude.

"Did you think I was just going to stop there?" She asked with a seductive tone as she re-positioned herself over top Nick.

"N-Nope," he replied with joy and a smile.

"Then just lie back and let me do all the work," she added with a grin of her own.

Nick obeyed her, so he laid-back to let her do as she wished. Judy's intimate region met with Nick's, she began to move up and down starting slow and ever so slightly becoming faster as time went on. Soon she sped up, and she and Nick both moaned in pleasure. Both of their final releases were nearing, and as they both came closer to them, their moaning became louder. Then, it happened Nick was fully immersed in Judy, even the bulge at the end of his part was in contact with hers.

"N-N ... Nick!" Judy exclaimed in pleasure as hers and Nick's maximum releases arrived.

"Judy!" Nick blurted out as it all happened.

Judy fell forwards onto Nick's abs and chest. Both of them breathing Nick's chest rising heavily and falling pushing Judy up and down as she too tried to catch her breath.

"H-How do you feel?" Judy asked with a shortness of breath with their bodies still connected to one another.

"I-I feel ... Amazing," he replied breath taken by what had just happened.

"Good," she calmly said as she laid on his chest.

After a few minutes, Nick spoke suddenly with a soft voice, "Carrots."

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

"Can you pull me out?" He asked with a tired voice.

Judy didn't reply, but she still did what Nick asked of her. She pulled herself up breaking the connection between the two of them. She fell to the side of Nick and snuggled next to him.

They both laid out there for nearly half an hour, Nick eventually falling asleep being exhausted from the loss of blood in his body, no longer feeling pain in his ear, for the pleasure had subsided it. However, it wouldn't last forever; soon the pain would return. Judy, however, instead of sleeping, she stared up at the ceiling fan that was spinning on a low speed so that she could follow it with her eyes.

Then she looked at Nick who was sleeping; she knew he was tired, so she slowly moved away from Nick's warmth, then off the bed. Judy grabbed a small blanket that she had neatly folded and placed in a basket. She unfolded it and spread it over Nick.

Judy climbed back onto the bed and whispered into Nick's good ear right before kissing it, "I love you, sleep well."

She again jumped off the bed, but this time she went to grab her panties, she pulled them out of her uniform's pants and slipped them on, then she quietly searched for some clothing that was less constricting than her uniform. Judy eventually found a free pair of jeans and a shirt that she slipped on without making a sound.

Then, she went into the living room and picked up the food that she and Nick hadn't finished. Judy walked with them into the kitchen; she left them on the counter as she looked for tinfoil that she could use to cover up the food. She looked in a drawer and found a role, so she unraveled some and used it to cover up the food that she then placed in the fridge.

Judy decided to get started on her report of the incident from earlier that day. She figured getting it done while the memory is fresh in her head would make it go by faster. Judy always left report sheets in a stack on the coffee table in the living room. So, she went back into the living room and sat down on the floor between the couch and coffee table; she grabbed a pan and a sheet of paper. The report sheets Judy had were pre-filled with the most of the basic information practically making the report a fill in the blanks kind of task.

* * *

After four hours, Judy completed her report including five long paragraphs going over the whole incident. In the time it took to write her story, she had gone and reheated her food from earlier and finished it too.

Now that Judy had nothing to do, she decided to watch TV hoping to find something good to watch. She got up off the ground and sat on the couch behind her. Judy leaned forward to grab the remote; then she turned on the TV by clicking the power button on the remote. She started flipping through channels when she just so happened to hit a news channel that was talking about the shooting of a cop.

Judy had always hoped the publicity that revolved around her and Nick would stop, after the excitement around them saving Zootopia and being the first of their kind to be cops, it died down. However, once the public found out about their relationship with one another the news channels just had to do stories on the first bunny and fox to be cops were dating. However, besides that, when everyone found out Judy was terrified of what they would say about a fox and a rabbit being lovers. Surprisingly they didn't get hate like both of them thought they would, in fact, a lot if not most animals were okay with them. Judy figured she and Nick being together was accepted not for equality, but out of fear, fear of them, the others who did think it was okay, and the animals who were in relationships with other kinds of animals. Soon that all died down, and there hadn't been much in the news about them. Everyone was losing interest in them, no longer caring that they are the first of their kind to be cops, they were just cops now, and the publicity had stopped, and this story, wouldn't last long.

Judy knew there would be things she would never get answers for and the acceptance of their relationship was one of them. However, one thing confused her. That thing was how Nick never got exposed for his past; no one knew what he had done, and somehow it stayed that way, but even the news never tried to uncover dirt on him. That was a question Judy never cared to get an answer for; she was just happy Nick's past never arose out of the darkness.

She continued to flip through the channels eventually giving up on watching TV. Judy turned off the television, but when she did this, she heard a loud thump come from hers and Nick's bedroom.

"Nick, honey, are you alright?" She shouted with slight concern in her tone.

Then she heard another loud thump, sounding as if Nick had slipped and fallen. Judy got up and ran to the bedroom to see Nick on the floor trying to get up for the second time.

Still, in his naked form, Nick looked up to see her standing there, he got up onto his knees and hugged her, exclaiming with a tremble in his voice, "J-Judy I-I ... I thought I-I l-lost you!"

Judy hugged him back, feeling his sweat covered, quivering body, his rippled breathing, so she replied with a soothing tone to try and calm him, "Shh it's okay Nick I'm right here nothing bad has happened to me."

Nick tried to speak again only failing to make the words he wanted, "I-I ..."

Then, he began crying, soaking Judy's back with his tears of fear and frustration, for he was too scared, too powerless, even to speak.

At this moment they both realized the promise Nick had made was broken, the nightmares he was having were out of their control. The only thing Judy could do now was to help Nick through the fear.

Judy held him slowly calming him, soon his broken breathing becoming healthy, his tremulous body now steady. The only thing left that couldn't be fixed was Nick's ear; it was the only thing causing him pain.

"Nick," Judy whispered softly into his right ear as she petted the back of his head.

"Yeah," he replied no longer stuttering his words.

"I love you," she answered speaking softly and pleasantly.

Nick then said calmly, "Never let me go ..." He moved out of Judy's arms; he looked into her eyes still being on his knees, and Nick added to what he said with an almost begging tone, "Judy, hold on to me and never let me go."

Judy pulled Nick into a kiss for a few seconds, then she again hugged him, replying with a caring voice, "I promise you I will never let go, I will never stop loving you."

Both of them held each other for over twenty minutes before they got up. Nick got a pair of boxers on, and he followed Judy into the kitchen, where she grabbed the plate of fish Nick never finished, and she heated it up. Judy grabbed the plate from the microwave and gave it to Nick who devoured it, seeing as he was starving.

After he had finished eating, Judy asked him if he felt up to writing his report on the shooting. Nick only managed to get the full in the blanks part of the report done before he decided to go to bed along with Judy. Both of them got undressed Nick only having to remove his underwear, Judy taking all her clothing off, seeing as this is how they slept together. Nick held Judy in his arms the whole night; she eventually fell asleep, but Nick didn't, for the pain in his ear, plus the fear of another night nightmare kept him from sleep.

* * *

 **Hello there, I hope you liked the chapter, please tell me what you think of it by leaving a nice review for me to read. I worked hard on this one as I did with the last and I'm always trying to improve myself with each chapter I write.**

 **Until next time**


	3. Terms and Conditions

Chapter Three: Terms and Conditions

When the ones we love are hurting, we will try our best to help them, for that is what a family does, isn't it?

* * *

Nick watched as the clock changed with every passing minute, slowly creeping its way to five thirty. When it finally made it way there Nick clicked the button on the top of the clock to stop the alarm before it even had a chance to go off, then he looked at Judy who was sleeping peacefully.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" He asked himself as he felt the warmth coming from Judy's naked body.

A few more minutes went by; then Nick decided to get out of bed. He slowly and carefully moved away from Judy, not waking her in the process. Nick figured, if they were going into work later than usual because of the incident, he might as well let her sleep while he wrote his report.

Nick grabbed his underwear off the floor, and he put them back on. He looked around for his uniform eventually finding his pants, shirt, and jacket all in a laundry basket. Nick picked up the pants and looked at them; he saw blood stains on the left leg, so he put them back into the hamper. Luckily the ZPD gave all their officers more than one pair of clothes, after all, they couldn't have their officers smelling like sweat from the same clothes every day, or have then wearing civilian clothing.

He walked over to the closest opening it without making a sound, Nick grabbed a clean uniform and slipped into it as quietly as he could be.

As he was doing this his head was pounding, luckily the pain was not as bad as yesterday, but it was still bad enough that he could lose focus quickly.

Nick grabbed his phone off the night table pulling the charger out of it; he stuck it in his pocket, then he grabbed his wallet which was beside where the phone just was, and he shoved that into his other pocket. He would put on his belt, and gun holster later, for now, he was content only being dressed.

"Coffee," he thought to himself, it was the one thing he wanted at this moment.

He left their room and walked through his dark apartment. However, for him, he could see just fine being a fox his eyes adjusted better than most animals.

Nick reached his kitchen; he walked up to the coffee machine, but before he started it he needed to fill it with water and coffee grinds. So, he grabbed the pot from the machine and turned on the water tap from the sink, which was right beside the coffee maker. Nick filled the cup with water; then poured that water into the machine into a hole where it said pour. He placed the pot back under the dispenser; he searched for the coffee grinds eventually finding them in a cabinet above the sink. Nick scooped some of the coffee grinds into the machine and started it, now all he had to do was wait for it to be ready.

While he waited, Nick went into the living room; he figured he should get his report on yesterday's incident finished. He already had the necessary part of it done, all he had to do now was write his opinions on the situation, his involvement, and the reason for the incident.

He sat down on the couch and tried to write, but nothing came to mind, he could barely remember what had happened. Nick sat for ten minutes, feeling pain in his ear while trying to remember, but his head hurt too much for him to think straight.

He again got up; he walked back into the kitchen to see the coffee finished brewing. So, Nick grabbed a coffee mug from a cabinet, then he grabbed the pot of coffee and poured the black, delicious coffee into the cup filling it near the top. He didn't put any sugar or almond milk; it was the way he liked it in its purest form.

Nick took a sip of the coffee and he hummed with joy, "hmm."

After a few sips, he took his coffee back with him out of the dark kitchen and into the living room, which now had dim light shining in from the window that was in there. Instead of sitting on the couch he did what Judy had done the night before, he sat on the floor between the coffee table and the couch.

As Nick sipped on his coffee, he again tried to make out the situation that had happened yesterday. What bothered him the most were the facts that he didn't remember. Nick knew what happened; he was aware that a ferret shot him with his firearm, but only because a few animals told him. His mind had blocked out the memories, and he hated that it did. Nick knew that when the investigation of the shooting was over if he were to be having trouble remembering the events that transpired the ZPD would have him go on temporary leave to be assessed by a doctor or a shrink to help him with the memory loss. So, he decided to copy from Judy's report, for him it would be easy, cheating was something he had learned over years of cunning animals. He could copy from what Judy had written and made it look like his own.

He picked up Judy's report which she had put into a folder, and he opened it, Nick looked and turned the pages until he reached the page with everything Judy personally wrote. He read it slowly, ignoring his pounding headache as best he could, going over every detail Judy wrote about which was ideal for him. The only problem Nick had with the plan of his was the beginning; Judy had told him that he said to split up to corner him, but no one even Judy knew what happened between him and the ferret before Judy showed up. Lying was the only way to get away with forgetting. There were no cameras in the alleyway, so Nick would make up a story as to what happened.

Nick started to write his report on a blank, lined paper, and when he got to the part he needed to lie about, Nick wrote, "I got up to the ferret who had stolen my gun, we exchanged punches a few times, but he managed to push me away. He pointed the gun at me quickly shooting it; luckily he had not yet aimed when the gun fired, so he only hit my ear."

Then, he finished writing his report, going back to Judy's every so often to read what she had written. Nick wrote his story entirely based off of Judy's, yet he did this so subtly, no one would ever know he truly had no recollection of the incident.

Nick pulled out his phone from his front pocket; he checked the time to see it was nine AM. Then, he shoved it back into his pocket, and he got up off the floor. Nick started to stretch but quickly stopped when his arm touched his ear.

"Shit!" He exclaimed in pain right before he groaned.

He sat down on the couch behind him; he breathed in and out slowly to try to make it through the pain he just caused himself. After a few minutes had passed, the dreadful pounding and throbbing he constantly felt returned to the average intensity it was at previously. Nick got up off the couch and grabbed his empty, coffee mug from the coffee table; he had left the pot of coffee he made on the keep warm setting, so when he would want more it would still be hot. Nick left the now bright, living room and went in the kitchen which did not have a window, yet still got a faint amount of light shining in.

Nick grabbed the pot of coffee; he poured more into his mug, but this time instead of savoring it, he gulped down the whole cup. Nick went to do this again, but he heard footsteps coming from the living room. He knew it was Judy, so he placed the mug and pot of coffee down, and he started to walk over to the living room.

"Carrots," he calmly said as he entered the room.

Judy turned around quickly looking startled at first, for Nick had been so light on his feet she could not hear him walk in, but she quickly became calm when she saw him.

"Nick you scared me," she said calmly, as she walked past their couch and coffee table.

Nick walked up to her giving her a quick hug, this being what they normally did when they saw each other awake for the first time in the morning. However, it was usually while they were in bed that the hugged one another.

"Sorry I didn't mean to," he replied with a smile, as he held her close to him.

They broke away from each other, then Judy asked curiously, "Honey, why didn't you wake me?"

"I felt there was no reason to; I had to finish my paperwork that we need to give to that detective. I just finished and figured I'd wait for you to wake up on your own," Nick said happily yet with slight discomfort.

"Does it still hurt that bad?" Judy asked with concern, for she could see that he was in displeasure.

Nick replied with a soft, yet confident tone, "Yeah, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

Nick sat down on the corner of the couch, which the small, short table they had in front could not reach. Judy watched as he held back all the groans and quivering of his body caused by the constant throbbing of his raw, ripped ear. She felt sympathy for him, but if anything, she was proud of how well he was holding himself together. Judy would never be able to stop herself from weeping in pain. Judy knew she was strong in many ways, but being shot and holding herself together through it all wasn't one of them. In fact, she was surprised Nick could do it, she knew he was already fit and had the endurance for many things, and the police academy only added to that, but she never thought he was this enduring.

"Nick after we give the detective our reports, I want you to ask for some time off, just until your ear heals," Judy said suddenly, yet peacefully and orderly.

He then replied with a reassuring tone while he smiled at Judy, "Carrots, I'm all right, we're going to give the detective the reports he wants, so we can both go back to work, and everything can go back to the way it is supposed to be."

Judy walked around the coffee table and sat beside Nick, and she asked with a smile, yet serious tone, "Nick are you telling me that you're alright, or telling yourself that you're alright?"

"What do you mean? I'm telling you that," Nick asked confused by what she said.

Judy gripped Nick's paw with hers and replied softly, and with concern, "Nick how well did you sleep last night?"

"What does my sleeping have to do with this?" Nick asked even though he already knew what she was going to say.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" She replied calmly.

Nick sighed, then answered with a flat tone, "no, no I did not."

Judy then placed her other paw on Nick's second one; she looked him in the eyes as she said with softness and love, "It's okay Nick, I can see it in your eyes. You're in pain; you're hiding it as best as possible, but you can't hide it all. However, it's not just physical pain you feel; it's pain from your dreams as well."

He was silent for nearly a minute as he went over everything in his mind. He tried telling himself over and over that he was fine, but after what Judy said, Nick knew he wasn't and he couldn't hide that from himself anymore.

A tear fell from Nick's eye, and he cried out, "Judy I'm pathetic!"

Judy hugged him and replied with a caring voice, "No Nick you're not pathetic, okay don't tell yourself that."

Nick pulled away from Judy's arms and said with self-hatred, "no I am, I can't sleep because of some stupid dreams, no they're not just stupid they tell me I can't protect you! How am I supposed to keep you safe when I can't do it in a dream? For fuck's sake you've saved my life over and over, what does that say about me huh? It says I'm too weak to protect myself, what happens when you are in danger for real, how am I going to save you?"

Nick stood up and started pacing back-and-forth, then he picked up an empty cup that was sitting on the coffee table, and he threw it across the room shattering it into pieces.

Judy stood up and tried to grab the sides of his arms while she said with a louder more serious tone, "Nick, stop this isn't helping, just calm down!"

He pushed her away, but he fell to his knees and started sobbing. Nick could feel as if the pride he had built over his whole life, was slipping away from him, falling out of the grasp of his paws. He knew the nightmares would keep coming that every time he slept, he would witness the death of his only family, his lover, his wife, his Judy, his everything.

"I'm sorry ... I'm sorry I'm not strong enough," Nick said with a quieter voice, yet with misery in his tone.

Judy placed her paws on his shoulders, and she made him stand up off his knees. All she did was hug him without speaking.

"Judy ... I ...," Nick said breaking away from their hug before she stopped him from talking as she spoke with her reassuring words.

"You are not weak no one has ever thought that, and neither should you. You are strong, stronger than me, you changed your whole life because of me, no, for me, that's strength, that's bravery," she said with confidence.

"Thank you," he softly said as he stared into Judy's eyes.

Judy pulled Nick into a kiss; then she broke it after a few seconds. Nick hugged her and held her tightly for a few minutes.

Then she pulled away from Nick to look again into his eyes, and she murmured with love, "Listen, I'll help you through this, just like you've helped me through the first time I ever killed and even like yesterday. Nick that is what family is for, to help one another, I am your family, I always will be."

Nick smiled at her, and he replied calmly, "Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without you."

They hugged once again, but only for a few short seconds before breaking it.

"I have to get cleaned up, you should too," Judy said calmly with a smile.

"Well I can't take a shower, and besides I already cleaned all the blood off me," Nick replied no longer sounding brittle or broken, but now looking cheerful and contentful.

Nick watched as Judy walked away and headed into their bathroom which was to the left in a short hallway right before their bedroom which was to the right. Once she was gone he went back into the kitchen, and he grabbed another cup of coffee, but that wasn't the only reason he went back in there. Nick was hungry, and he knew Judy would want food when she finished in the shower, so he opened the freezer and looked for his favorite breakfast. Blueberry waffles made with delicious almond milk and amazing blueberries, but not just any old blueberries; the waffles were made and given to him by Judy's mother.

"Hmm," Nick hummed as he opened the packaging surrounding the waffles.

He grabbed four of them then, put the rest back into the freezer closing it after. Nick walked over to the toaster and dropped the four waffles into it; he pulled down the two levers causing the four waffles to fall into the machine and started cooking.

While all this happened Judy was in the shower. It didn't take her too long to make one, and drying off didn't take much time either. However, for her it used to before she moved in with Nick, Judy had never used a body dryer, a machine that you would stand in front off and it would blow warm or cold air on you, drying all the water right down to the skin under her fur. She used this every time she finished in the shower just like now, but it left her coat in a mess. Luckily there was a tool for that too it was called a grooming brush, designed in a similar way to a standard brush, but it had something a little more than an everyday comb. It had a small ionic generator which uses microscopic ions to remove any fuzziness.

After she had used the brush, Judy walked from the bathroom to the bedroom across from it. She quickly threw on her uniform, still using her vest like she did the day before. Then, she headed straight to the kitchen to see Nick with two plates with waffles on them.

"How was the shower Carrots?" He happily asked as he set the two plates down on the table in front of him.

"It was refreshing," she replied with a flat tone as she stared at the plates of food. "Are those blueberry waffles?" She asked as she gazed at them.

Nick grinned, then replied with content, "why, yes they are Carrots, they're the ones your mother gave us."

Her eyes widened, for the blueberry waffles her mother made were her favorite food to have for breakfast. Judy pulled out the chair and sat down; Nick gave her a fork and knife, and she stabbed warm, square, blueberry, filled waffles and she shoved a mouthful into her mouth.

Nick sat down beside her and asked sarcastically with a grin, "what did the waffles do to you?"

Judy smiled, not answering the question, for her mouth was too full of food, but once she swallowed what was in her mouth, she replied happily with a grin of her own, "They were just too good to be left untouched."

"Mmhm, and would you like some coffee to go with that?" He asked pleasantly.

"Oh yes please I almost forgot about coffee," she replied with surprise in her tone.

"I'll get you the coffee," Nick added as he stood up out of his chair to go and grab the pot which still had enough coffee for a few more cups.

He poured more coffee into his mug; then he grabbed another one from the cabinet above the counter. He filled the second cup with coffee not adding anything to it, for Judy too liked it black. Nick grabbed the two mugs and walked over to the table, setting down the cups before sitting back down in his chair.

"Here you go Carrots," he said with a smile before taking a sip from his mug.

Judy swallowed another bite, then she replied with a pleasant tone, "thanks."

Nick started to eat his breakfast, and soon they both finished both their coffee and waffles. So, Nick grabbed both their plates in one paw and the two mugs in the other, and he placed them in the sink. He quickly washed them before putting them with more clean dishes in a drying rack to the right of the sink.

While he was doing this Judy asked suddenly sounding concerned when she spoke, "Nick do ... Do you think we should talk to the chief when we get to the ZPD? I-I just want to make sure he's okay."

Nick turned around after placing the last dish with the others on the tray, he then, replied with little surprise to her question.

Nick knew she was going to ask him that, "I think that's a good idea, even though I believe he's okay, we should still check on him."

Nick said that he thought Bogo was all right, yet even he knew deep down that there was something wrong, he just didn't know what.

Once Nick finished with the dishes, he went back to their apartment to their room to grab his utility belt and gun holster. He quickly remembered that he did not have his gun with him, but he still put his holster on his belt.

Guns, Nick didn't mind them. However, Judy did. The ZPD hadn't used real firearms, mainly tranquilizers, but when the night howler incident was still present, Bellwether had guns put in place, and they became the norm. Nick figured that animals were still scared of the drug getting used again, and Lionheart used that to his advantage when he got back into office, he fed the fear that it could happen again, so he kept real guns with real bullets in play.

Nick came out of their room ready to leave, and he saw Judy placing the reports in files and putting them in the briefcase.

"You ready?" Nick asked suddenly with a content tone.

"Yeah," she replied calmly looking straight up at him.

"You're driving," he added stating the obvious with a stale voice as he walked up to Judy.

He grabbed the car keys from his belt and gave them to Judy, then they both walked towards their front entrance.

"I hope you're ready to deal with Clawhauser when we get into the ZPD, he is going to go ballistic when he sees you," Judy said with a lively tone, as she opened the front door for them to walk out.

"Watch his jaw drop the moment I walk into the ZPD," Nick said with a faint smile. Then, he added with a more firm tone, "but I don't want to deal with him today, he just gets annoying, and he's nosey."

"See you sure?" She calmly asked while she closed the door to their apartment behind her, then locking it. "You know he's harmless," she added with a soft smile.

"I-I know, it's just not something I want to deal with today," Nick replied with a subtle annoyance behind in his voice, almost indistinguishable behind his kind tone.

"Nick, honey, you don't have to tell him about anything no one needs to know about the dreams," Judy said calmly, yet seriously. "Just say you're fine," she added, but with a smile and happier voice.

"O-Okay, I'll talk to him," he said calmly. "But!" He exclaimed changing his tone suddenly. "I'm only going to speak with him for a few minutes," Nick added again with a soft tone, but with seriousness.

"Alright let's get to the ZPD," Judy chirped, changing the subject.

Nick pushed open the door to the front entrance of the apartment building, and it made a buzzing noise for a few seconds before stopping abruptly. They both walked towards the parking lot to the side of the building; Judy clicked the automatic unlock button on her keys opening to the police car.

They both entered the vehicle closing the car doors and fastening their seatbelts. Just plugged in the key twisting it, making the car come to life. They drove from their apartment through the city and straight into what was known as the heart of Zootopia, ZPD precinct one.

Judy parked the car in the underground parking lot and turned it off; then she spoke up breaking the silence with her content voice, "you know after this, you'd better start doing my paperwork, we had a bet."

"Alright Carrots lets just get this done so that we can go back to work," Nick replied with a lacking content.

Nick and Judy exited the car closing the doors behind them, and Judy locked them with the automatic lock button. They walked up to the elevator, and Nick clicked the button with a down arrow, it being the only one there to press. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long; the elevator was already on their floor with the doors closed, which opened when he clicked the button. They walked into it, and the doors closed, Judy pressed another button to take them to the ground floor, and it did. The lift jolted and began moving upwards until it reached the ground floor.

The moment the doors opened it made a big ding signaling it had arrived, Clawhauser turned to see them. The large feline gasped with an excessive amount of terror.

"Oh my gosh, Nick are you okay?" He exclaimed with surprise.

"Yes spots I'm all right," Nick replied sounding annoyed by Clawhauser's great worry.

Nick and Judy walked up to the front desk, and Clawhauser sat back down in his chair, then asked with much less worry than before, "Did ... did you get the guy who did this?"

Nick replied hesitantly trying to sugarcoat his answer, "Ben ... the animal who shot me is ... well"

"Dead, I shot him in the eye," Judy said with a flat tone, cutting Nick before he could answer himself.

"Uh ... oh," the surprised cat replied shocked that Judy had done such a thing.

"It's not a big deal Ben I've had to do it before," she added lacking remorse for what she did, as she too was now annoyed by him.

It wasn't that they didn't like him that made him annoying, it was just how much exaggeration he put into everything that was so irritable.

Nick broke the awkwardness of the situation by saying with forced content, "Anyway spots, we'll be fine I've just got a flesh wound, and Judy is excellent, but we have to go, a certain detective is waiting for us.

"Oh ... okay," Ben replied saddened and confused over everything. "just, so you guys know the chief is back," he added as Nick and Judy began to walk away.

"Thanks, spots," Nick replied with a grin.

Nick and Judy walked over to the stairs and went up to them; they came to the second floor. Down one way of a short hall was the detective and chief offices, to the right had the break room, waiting room, briefing room, plus a few bathrooms.

They went towards the offices, which was just one big room with a bunch of desks set up for the detectives. The only room on its own was the chief's office; the rest were all together.

The floor was filled with large animals all towering over them, some of them chatting, drinking coffee, or working cases. However, all they needed was to speak to sergeant detective Eric Short, so the looked for his desk eventually finding it with him at it.

Judy jumped onto the chair on the opposite side of the lion, who did not yet notice them. Nick followed her by climbing the chair.

Since Eric did notice them Nick spoke up loudly with a grin, "you now, a good detective knows when someone is waiting for him on the chair in front of his desk."

Eric looked startled by Nick's sudden appearance, but he played it off and replied calmly, "Officer Wilde." He looked to see Judy beside him, and he added, "and Officer Wilde, doesn't that get annoying having the same last name while working side by side?"

Nick smiled and replied with a chipper voice, "we usually go by our first names."

"Okay so, then I should call you Nick and Judy?" He asked politely.

"Yes that would be idle," Judy replied happily

Eric smiled, then said with a pleased tone, "Okay Nick and Judy, let's see those reports on yesterday's incident, shall we?"

"Alright," Judy replied, as she gave the file she had with her to the lion.

The detective grabbed the file from her, he opened it, then placed it on the desk. He started to read Judy's, and he went back-and-forth between his findings and the report.

As Eric did this Judy glimpsed at the photos from the crime scene, she could see the ferret she killed. Beside that was another photo, but this one wasn't off a body it was from the bullet that hit Nick. It was a brick wall behind where he had been standing when he got hit, and beside that was a picture Judy did not want to see. They had found the remains of the part of Nick's ear; there wasn't much, but some red and orange fur and a small piece of cartilage with dried up blood on it.

Nick could tell Judy was distressed by the photos so, he held her close and whispered into her ear, knowing she could only hear him, "it's okay just look away."

She did so, Judy looked away from the picture and looked only at Nick.

After twenty minutes Eric finished with Judy's report, and he moved onto Nick's. As he read through Nick's story, Nick became nervous; he didn't show it of course, but fabricating most of the report and knowing the lion was reaching the end was worrying.

Suddenly the detective spoke up with a stern tone, "Well it seems what you two have written is consistent with what I've found, and you will both be happy to know that you stopped a criminal whom this department has spent months looking for."

"What ... what do you mean?" Nick asked with a confused look on his face, but also one of relief that he didn't get discovered faking part of his report.

Eric replied calmly yet with a slight confusion of his own, "The ferret AKA Robert Miller, was an arms' dealer; he did not only sell guns he stole them too, thousands of weapons from gun stores and the ZPD. My only question, however, is why did he try to take your firearm? He's never stolen a gun right off an officer then try to kill the officer with it; it doesn't fit the profile. Maybe he couldn't get guns from anywhere else and thought stealing them off of animals would work, but never the less, he's dead, and that's all that matters."

"Wait how come we are only now hearing about this guy?" Questioned Judy with a curious look on her face.

"It was a high-profile case only animals that needed to know; knew, we didn't want the word that the ZPD was having guns stolen right from under our noses. It would have been bad for the public to know," he answered with content in his tone.

"So does this mean I get my gun back?" Nick asked happily with a grin.

"Uh, yes and no, you will be given a new one, if your weapon was never used by Miller you could be given it back, but since it was, it must stay in evidence," Eric replied calmly. "Judy you can have yours back, though," he added before he opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a bag within it Judy's firearm.

She grabbed it from him and immediately took it out of the bag and placed it in her holster.

"You two can also get back to field duty," he added as he stood up out of his chair.

Nick and Judy followed by hopping off there's and Nick replied happily, "Thank you, detective, that's all I wanted to hear."

"Yes well now it's time I get to work on finding the weapons he didn't have a chance to sell, excuse me, if you well," he said calmly.

The lion sat back down and turned on his computer, so Nick and Judy decided to go. They walked towards the chief's office, and Nick knocked on the door.

"Come in!" They heard Bogo exclaim from within the office.

Nick opened the door only to see darkness, but his eyes quickly adapted to the little light. Judy, however, relied on the light shining in from the opened door. They saw the chief standing in front of the window to the right of his desk looking down at the street through a small crack in the blinds.

"Uh, sir is everything alright?" Judy asked sounding concerned.

"No Judy nothing is alright," Bogo said with despair in his voice.

"What happened chief?" Nick asked cutting into the conversation.

The chief looked down at the floor, then turned around and looked down at both Nick and Judy. Tears were in his eyes, for the first time in Their careers at the ZPD they saw Bogo crying.

"Please turn on the light and close the door," Bogo asked with a voice of grievance.

Nick walked towards the light switch and flicked it up turning on the light he then, closed the door, came forwards and stood next to Judy.

"Chief, sir, what happened?" Judy asked worryingly.

"Please take a seat, both of you," he insisted, pointing to the chair.

Nick and Judy climbed onto the seat and awaited Bogo to answer Judy's question.

Bogo sighed, then he spoke with a brittle voice, "it's ... it's my wife; she was ... taken."

Judy gasped then exclaimed, "what!"

The chief spoke up now with fury in his tone, "Someone took her Tuesday night; they left a note, all it said was, tell only Nick and Judy Wilde."

"What does this have to do with us?" Nick asked baffled as to why he and Judy were involved.

"I don't know, but that's what I want to find out," Bogo replied angrily. "I swear to God when I find the Bastards who did this, I'm going to kill them with my claws!" He added furiously.

Then, out of the blue Bogo's phone started to ring, he pulled it out of his pocket he looked at the screen to see the number, but it was blocked.

He clicked answer and spoke into the phone hiding his anger, "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello Thelonious, it's been a long time," a voice said calmly over the phone.

"Who are you?" He asked now with anger.

"Are the Wildes with you?" The male voice asked with a flat tone.

"Y-Yes," Bogo replied as he realized who it was he was speaking with, the kidnapper.

"Listen to me you son of a bitch!" The chief yelled before getting cut off.

"Put the phone on speaker, now!" The animal exclaimed.

The chief did so, he pulled the phone away from his face and clicked the speaker button on the screen.

"It's on speaker," he said with a low yet angered tone.

All three of them were confused, what was happening, why did this animal take Bogo's wife and how were they involved?

"Thelonious help!" A now female voice screamed out in terror.

"Janet, is that you?" Bogo yelled. "Janet!" He exclaimed with a worry in his voice.

Janet's screams for help suddenly became muffled as if she had just been gagged; then the male voice returned speaking with the anger of his own, "do what I say, and she lives. If not then have fun planning her funeral."

"If you even lay a finger on her I'll kill you myself!" Bogo cried out hastily with fury in his tone.

"Do what I say, and she will be fine," the kidnapper replied calmly. "Nick and Judy, those are your names aren't they?" He asked suddenly.

"Y-Yes they are," Nick answered with confusion.

"You will do as I say as well or she dies," he commanded hesitantly, almost as if he was scared.

Bogo nodded his head up and down to signify that they should say yes and Nick agreed by saying with a calm voice, "yes we will."

"I'll give you whatever you want just leave her be," he begged as he tried to hide his tears.

"I don't want money, I don't want anything, but for the three of you to meet me," the kidnapper replied with a stern voice.

Nick and Judy looked at one another with bewilderment; they didn't understand. Why would he kidnap the chief of police's wife so that he could meet up with the three of them?

"T-Then we will meet you wherever it is you want to," Bogo answered nervously.

"Meet me in Tundratown in the abandoned seed mill in three hours, no guns just the three of you, I see anyone else I kill Janet, I'll be waiting," he replied sounding agitated.

He ended the call on the three of them, leaving them in confusion and shock. Nick and Judy could not understand what the animal wanted, the chief, however, didn't care, all he wanted was to get his wife back.

"We need to get help, we can't just go in unarmed without backup," Nick pointed out.

"We have to; I'm not risking Janet's life for protocol!" The chief exclaimed.

"Sir these protocols are here for a reason, you of all animals should know that," Judy said with sympathy.

"This is different Judy; this is my wife," he replied calmly.

"Sir you're not thinking straight," Nick added with a stern voice.

"Shut up Wilde! We are doing this whether you like it or not," he yelled out with anger.

Nick knew the chief was out of his mind, but he also knew that there was no stopping him from going, and he'd go alone if he had to.

"Chief, we need at least someone on the look out," Nick begged.

"Sir, do you trust anyone here as much if not more than us?" Judy asked with a soft tone as to try and ease the tension that was rising.

"There is one, he works here," Bogo replied calmly.

"Who?" Nick asked curiously.

"Sergeant Detective Eric Short, he's my best friend known him for a long time I trust him with my life," he answered quickly.

"You mean the lion that worked the shooting we were in yesterday?" Judy asked with surprise.

"Yes, if you must bring someone else into this, then it will be him," Bogo replied no longer sounding angered.

"Then, call him in here," Nick demanded.

The chief agreed, he stood up out of his chair and walked to the door, he opened it and yelled out, "Short, get in here!"

The lion quickly stood up and headed towards the chief's office. Eric walked inside to see Nick and Judy sitting in a chair and Bogo waiting to close the door behind him.

"What's going on? boss?" Eric asked curiously.

"I ... we need your help," Bogo answered as he closed the door behind him.

"With what?" Eric asked still confused as to what was happening.

"Take a seat Eric," Bogo said with a clean tone.

Eric pulled out the chair beside Nick and Judy who were still sitting waiting for the chief to explain everything to Eric. He sat down and the chief did the same sitting down in his seat.

"Chief does this have to with you not being here yesterday?" Eric asked calmly.

"Yes it does," he replied with a stern, yet worried tone. Bogo sighed, then he said with a calm tone, "my wife has been kidnapped."

"What!" Eric exclaimed utterly shocked that such a thing was kept secret from not just him, but the whole precinct. "Why haven't you told anyone until now?" He asked sounding surprised.

"Because if he sees anyone else other than me, Nick, and Judy, the bitch said he would kill Janet, I'm already taking a risk getting you involved," the chief answered his angry voice returning.

"Eric, don't try to fight him on this it's going to go down the way he wants it, we are here to help that's it okay," Nick said stopping Eric from bringing up the same argument Nick and Judy did, right before he came in.

"Okay, so how is this going to happen?" He asked calmly.

The chief answered quickly and without hesitation, "I was called by a kidnapper he said that I have to do everything he wants or Janet dies. All he wants is to meet me, Nick, and Judy, no one else and no guns."

"But we are going to have one gun, I'll have it strapped to my back if it becomes necessary I'll pull it on him," Nick added with a steady voice.

"What about me, what am I doing?" Eric asked.

"You're going to hang back in your car if you hear gunshots come and help, but if not and everything goes okay, when he gives Janet back to me you will be there to catch him, so he doesn't get away with this," Bogo answered calmly.

"Wait how do you know it's only the one animal, what if he's got, friends?" Eric asked with concern that the whole plan was going to be meaningless.

"When he spoke you could hear that he was nervous, petrified even. If he had a good plan and others were working with him; why would he have sounded so scared when telling us where he wanted to meet?" Judy pointed out.

"Okay maybe you're right, but I still feel this isn't going to work," Eric insisted.

"It doesn't matter, we have to do this, we have to save my wife," Bogo said calmly, hiding his fear that Eric was right.

"So it's settled, we are doing this," Nick said calmly while looking towards Eric.

"I guess it is," Eric answered with a low tone.

The chief spoke up with an order in his voice and said, "Okay we take our cars we meet up half a kilometer up the road from the seed mill that way he can't see Eric with us. When we get there we will go over the plan once more, us three will go all the way up to the mill and go inside making sure you Nick, you never turn the wrong way revealing the weapon. Eric, you will stay around the corner until either you hear a gun shot or get a text from me."

"Let's save your wife," Eric replied with confidence in his voice.

All four of them agreed, they were going to go through with the plan. Eric got up out of his chair and went back to his desk, Nick and Judy left the Chief's office to get prepared for the events that will take place later that day. The chief, however, stayed in the room, and he wept for; Thelonious didn't know if he would be with his wife again, Bogo feared that whoever was behind his wife's kidnapping wouldn't do what he said.

"Nick are you sure about this?" Judy asked worryingly.

"No Carrots I'm not, but it's the only shot we've got; it's just, none of it makes any sense," Nick replied with a soft tone no one other than Judy could hear him speak, as they were walking through the precinct down to the armory.

"Everything will be okay, okay this will work," Judy said trying to reassure him that they would save the day.

Nick sighed, then said calmly lacking hope, "I hope you're right Carrots, I really do.".

* * *

 **Hello I really hope you liked this chapter, please leave a review for me to read telling me what you thought of the chapter, I'm going to be working on a few OCs for this story Eric is only the first of a few I have in mind for later in this story.**

 **Until next time**


	4. The Hatred of The White Wolf

Chapter Four: The Hatred of The White Wolf

Can our choices truly be the right ones when it is our loved ones that are in danger or are they a clouded decision that could get the wrong animals hurt?

* * *

Nick broke the silence with a flat tone, "Carrots."

"Yes," she replied turning her head to look at Nick, then back to the road ahead of them.

"I've been thinking, about the dreams," he said with a quiet, subtly distressed tone.

"Oh ... And what did you conclude?" She asked calmly.

Nick didn't answer, but not because he wouldn't, but because he couldn't, he had not come to any conclusion, he just couldn't stop thinking about them.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea; we shouldn't be putting ourselves in this much danger," he said with a losing hope for the safety of everyone.

"Nick we will be fine, all this guy wants is to talk, nothing more," Judy replied with reassurance in her voice.

"What about the chief? If anything he's in the most danger, he might be reckless in his decisions," Nick pointed out.

"That's a risk we have no choice, but to take, Nick again I promise you, we will be fine, besides you will have a gun so you can take out the kidnapper before he does anything rash.," she replied reassuringly.

Nick pondered the thought for a moment before answering with a calm voice, "You're right, I shouldn't worry about this, we are trained officers we can do this."

"Yup, we are, now let's get to the rendezvous," Judy replied with content.

Nick and Judy drove through the city soon reaching the entrance to Tundratown. They passed through the gate and followed the back roads that led to the abandoned mill. When they got there, chief Bogo was there waiting in the cold.

Judy left the car on and got out, and Nick did the same, their breath could be seen in front of them as the cold air hit them. The chief's being even more noticeable for when he breathed in and out there was more air.

Judy then asked calmly, while slightly shivering as she grabbed her coat from behind her seat, "where's Eric?"

"He's on his way," Bogo replied with a flat tone.

Bogo wasn't shivering; he wasn't even wearing a coat. It was his determination to get his wife back that fuelled him, and that kept him warm

After a few minutes, the detective showed up stopping his car, getting out, but not turning it off just like the other three did.

"Hey, you guys ready for this?" The lion asked as he walked towards the three.

"Without a doubt," Bogo exclaimed.

"I'm ready," Nick added.

"Hold on guys," Judy said with slight hesitation.

"What is it Carrots?" Nick asked worryingly, for she was the one who was confident they were going to be okay.

"What do we tell the rest if the police if this doesn't work and someone gets killed? I mean it's not like we are exactly doing this the way it's supposed to get done," she asked with discontent.

"Well, we tell them the truth we got blackmailed into meeting him, and we were not allowed tell anyone about the event or get a swat team involved because the kidnapper would kill Janet Bogo. That's what we say regardless the outcome of this," Nick replied with a calm voice.

"So are we all ready?" Eric again asked.

"Yes, we are," Judy replied with a low tone.

They all agreed that they were ready, now there was no going back. Nick and Judy walked back to their vehicle and entered it, Bogo did the same, and so did Eric. Nick, Judy, and Bogo drove up the rest of the road to the abandoned mill and stopped their cars in front of the entrance and as instructed the detective stayed behind out of sight until needed. The three got out, this time turning off the cars and again their breath could be seen in front of them.

Judy strapped the gun to Nick's back then went ahead of him following behind the chief who was in a worried, rage hating the animal who did this.

"Chief," Judy said calmly with sympathy. "She's going to be okay, I promise," she added with reassurance.

The chief glanced back at her not answering before turning his head back in front of them.

All three walked into the mill, and when they did, it felt as if it had gotten colder. The light had also dimmed, making it feel as if the air itself had become darker with an evil presence, one that would not let anyone who was in the building leave alive.

"Where is this guy it's one o'clock, it's been three hours?" Nick asked confusingly.

"I'm right here fox!" A voice exclaimed

They looked around to see nothing in the shadows until a wolf with pure white fur came walking out holding a gun. He was pushing a chair with a small female buffalo strapped to it.

"Janet!" Bogo exclaimed in relief that no harm came to her, but with anger that she was tied up like some savage beast. Bogo looked to see who, it was that had taken his wife, and he remembered the face the moment he saw it, he said with a low angered tone, "Jason, you son of a bitch."

"Sir you know who this is, how?" Judy asked with bewilderment.

"of course I know him he worked at the ZPD for years, but before you two showed up, we arrested him for dozens of crimes," Bogo replied sternly while looking at him and Janet.

"you and I both know I never did any of those things, I was a good cop," the wolf yelled angrily

"why are we here Jason?" Nick asked suddenly stopping the argument before it became impossible to control

"We are here because of what he has done!" The wolf exclaimed pointing to Bogo.

"What, you mean putting you away for breaking the law?" Bogo asked with a loud, angry voice.

"Not just that, but for letting a fucking con artist be a cop!" Jason replied

Janet started to cry unable to take the constant yelling.

"Chief!" Judy said while pointing to his wife who was in tears.

"Janet it's going to be okay just hold on a little longer alright," Bogo said with a kind tone to show his wife he was going to get here out of there.

"Shut up!" Jason yelled his nervousness beginning to show in his tone. "Now let me finish explaining why I'm doing what I'm doing,' he added nervously.

"Isn't that cliché?' Nick asked with a calm tone.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" He exclaimed.

"Yes just tell us!" Bogo yelled

"At first a few years back when I wrongfully was imprisoned I saw on the TV that a bunny had been hired to be a police officer and I was proud that it had finally happened," he said with a slight nervous sound to his calm tone. "Then, you showed up," he said pointing to Nick with the gun in his paw. "Hell I was even more happy that the world was starting to accept more different kinds of species into jobs like being a cop, then I found out something that the public knows nothing of," he added ending with anger. "Someone came to me at the prison four months ago and showed me all the evidence that your little fox friend was a con artist, a fucking con artist!" He exclaimed.

The wolf started to walk back and forth tapping the five seven slightly on his head, and Bogo said calmly, "Listen, Jason, we can look into this reevaluate the evidence we-"

"No, it's not just about that anymore!" He yelled pointing the gun at Janet, then him and the other two.

Nick reached for his back but quickly stopped, for the wolf put the gun back down, and they wanted to end this without a single shot fired to save everyone.

"This is about you hiring a con artist fox and being completely okay with it after you had me put in prison. I was so close to becoming a detective too, my dream my life was being a cop and to see that it was going to be given to those two is fucking stupid!" He yelled nervously. "That's right! The guy not only gave me this information on Nick but a file that said the ZPD needed more detectives to combat the rise in crime. The only two you saw fit to become detectives were two very new cops. They haven't even been cops for the five years it takes even to consider getting such a promotion," Jason angrily said.

"So this is about us getting a job you've always wanted?" Judy asked with surprise.

"No this is about a con artist getting my job!" Jason replied with a loud tone.

"Nick got exonerated for the crimes he committed when he helped save this city from complete destruction," Bogo said calmly.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Jason said suddenly sounding calm. "You've taken my life now I'll take everything in your life away from you," he added completely quiet.

The Wolf pointed the gun up to Janet's head, and she screamed through the gag in her mouth. Nick instead of grabbing his gun, pulled Judy behind an old machine in the mill.

"No-," Bogo yelled getting cut off by a loud BANG!

Jason had pulled trigger shooting a bullet through Janet's head; blood splattered everywhere on to the wall to the side of her and on the wolf's white fur, now stained with the blood of an innocent animal.

"I'll kill you!" Bogo screamed with pure rage.

He ran towards the wolf, but it didn't matter, Jason pulled the trigger three more times the loud BANGs echoing through the building. Bogo fell right in front of the wolf with three bullets in him: one in his shoulder, one in his chest, and one in his skull, this one finally killing him.

Nick came out from behind the machine seeing everything that happened within ten seconds of pulling Judy to cover. He pointed his gun at the wolf that had blood covering his face and chest.

"I never wanted to hurt you or Judy you've done nothing to me, but I can't go back to jail, I'm finally free, and it shall stay that way," he said calmly.

The smiling wolf pointed his gun to his head and pulled the trigger, BANG!

The blood splattered onto the bodies of Bogo and Janet, and he fell over into the two pools of blood, adding his own to the red covered floor.

Everything stopped Nick dropped to his knees and time felt like nothing, he watched the blood pools become one, and he sat there, speechless.

Judy got up and ran to Nick and fell beside him also on her knees.

They both looked at the three bodies with thoughtless minds. When Eric came running in, they didn't acknowledge him.

All they heard was Eric speaking faintly with shock, slowly losing the words he was saying, "yes ... I need an ambulance there have been shots fired at-"

* * *

Soon more police arrived, and Nick and Judy were taken to an ambulance to get treated for shock, their friends being killed in front of them indeed broke them. After fifteen minutes, they were driven back to the ZPD in their patrol car by a cop who was instructed to take them there.

A few hours went by; then they were asked to answer some questions as to the events before the incident and during it as well.

"Look I told you there was nothing we could do, chief Bogo would have done it his way regardless of what we did, you know there is no stopping him when he starts something. This ... This was something he had to do; it was his wife, all we could do was be there to help," Nick said agitated and annoyed. He looked at the interrogator and sighed before saying calmly, "we got blackmailed Okay, we finished here? I want to take my wife home now."

Nick got up and left the interrogation room; no one stopped him from leaving; he went into the interrogation room that Judy was in, who had finished having questions asked, questions she didn't want to answer, questions that she couldn't do so without seeing the bodies in her mind.

"Carrots," Nick said calmly and with a level tone.

He sat down beside Judy and placed his paw on her arm.

"Judy I'm sorry-" Nick said before getting cut off by Judy throwing herself into his arms breaking down in tears. "Shh, shh," he said with empathy.

Judy sobbed into Nick's chest, for she couldn't take the pain that she had gone through that day.

A few minutes went by, and Nick offered calmly, "Carrots, you want to go home?"

She pulled away from his chest and replied with a brittle voice, "please take me home."

Nick stood up, and so did she, he held her close as they walked out of the interrogation room. He opened every door for her and the car door as well. Even though Nick was in pain from his wound and driving would make his head hurt more, but Nick drove home anyway. He didn't want to put that kind of constant concentration on Judy in her current state of mind; not even he was sure about putting himself under that kind of pressure, but that didn't matter, all that mattered was getting his wife home.

He parked the car in the same spot that it was in from earlier that day and he turned it off.

Nick looked at Judy who, was staring out the window into nothingness and he said with a soft tone, "Carrots I don't expect you to be okay and that's okay, but you need to speak to me please."

"Nothing is alright Nick," she said with a brokenness in her voice. "The chief our friend ... Is dead, his wife is dead, the animal who, killed them blew his god damn brains out, and we had to see it all happen and be helpless," she exclaimed with sadness.

Nick unbuckled himself and moved over to her seat, and he removed her seatbelt so he could hold her. Judy let him hold her, for she wanted to feel his warmth. Nick held Judy in his arms; she sat in his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her holding her tight to sooth her unsteadiness.

"I just can't believe they're gone," she cried out.

"Me too honey, me too," Nick added calmly yet with sadness, for he truly meant what he said.

"Now I can't even take my mind off of this because he was our boss, working will only make it worse," Judy blurted out.

"We are suspended Carrots, two weeks until we can go back to work," Nick replied giving Judy a kiss on the top of her head.

"Oh, then what do we do?" She asked with lacking surprise that they got suspended.

We find some way to work through this okay; we won't let this break us," he added calmly, but with confidence.

"O-Okay, but for now please just hold me," Judy begged.

"I will, as long as you, want me to I will never let go, I love you, Judy," Nick replied with reassurance and affection.

"I love you too Nick," Judy added giving Nick's paw a kiss.

He held her rocking back and forth until the bright evening sun fell beneath the threshold of the earth below them and the city lights took control of what they could see. They finally left the car Nick locking it when they got out, and they went into their apartment building. They walked up the stairs and went up the hall to their apartment. They reached their door, Nick unlocked it and opened it letting Judy in first. He closed the door behind him and turned on the front light so Judy could see, and they made their way through the rooms of their home.

Then as they were walking to their bedroom, Judy's phone began to ring. So, she pulled it out of her pocket and saw the contact said it was her mom calling.

"It's mom," Judy said calmly before clicking answer call. She sighed then asked calmly, "Hey mom, how have you been?"

"Never mind me, sweetheart, how are you and Nick doing? We saw on the news that there was an incident and that you're chief ... is gone and you two were there," Bonnie asked with sympathy for her child.

"N-No mom Nick and I are not alright," Judy replied hesitantly. "Nothing is okay," she added with a brittle tone.

"Well I think you two should come up to the farm for a few days help get your minds off of everything that has happened," she offered her grieving daughter with compassion.

"Yeah I'd like that mom," Judy answered with a bit of happiness, for she didn't have to stay in the city. "I'll tell Nick, I'm sure he will be okay with going to the farm," she added with a sniffle.

"If you don't mind sweetie I'd like to talk to him," Bonnie insisted.

"I'll give him the phone," Judy replied with a flat tone.

She walked over to their bedroom to see Nick sitting on the bed; he was holding his head in pain, for the Advil, he was taking wasn't enough. He wouldn't take painkillers, while he was working because Nick didn't want to stop, but now that he didn't have to go to work for two weeks, he would gladly get prescribed painkillers.

"Nick honey my mom wants to talk to you," Judy said calmly passing the phone to Nick.

"uh ... O-Okay," he said surprised that she would want to speak, while he grabbed the phone from Judy's paw. He placed the phone against his good ear and spoke into the phone with a cherry tone."Hello Mrs. Hopps"

"It's okay Nick you don't have to act like you're fine, I've seen everything on the news," Bonnie replied with a sympathetic tone.

"Oh, I just didn't know if you knew or not, I guess that was my cunning side speaking," Nick replied with a more flat tone.

"I asked Judy if you and she wanted to come up to the farm for a few days you know to get your minds off of everything," she said with a low tone.

"I think that's a good idea, Judy and I could use some time away from this city," he added with a kind voice. "There is going to be a shorts service, tomorrow morning for the Bogos; we will go to that, then head to your home, I look forward to seeing you and Stu," Nick said calmly, still trying to hide his grief.

"Listen, hon; you take care of Judy, she's never lost anyone before, okay," Bonnie asked of him

"I will, I promise," Nick replied with an assurance that he would do what she asked of him.

Bonnie ended the call, so Nick gave Judy back the phone, and she sat down Beside him.

"How long do you want to stay there?" Judy asked with a flat tone, leaning against Nick.

"Four days, I feel likes that is enough time to get away from all this," Nick answered with a flat voice.

"Can we just go to sleep?" Judy begged.

"Yes, we can go to sleep," he replied with a soft tone.

However, Nick couldn't sleep, when he heard her ask if they could just go to bed the thoughts of having another nightmare returned, these ideas were stronger than the thoughts of their dead friends and the dreams became the only thing he could think about day or night.

Nick helped Judy pull off her uniform and then, he did the same to himself. However, they left their underwear and undershirts on, normally they didn't, but Judy didn't want to have the temptation to do things with Nick, all she wanted was to feel him hold her not be with her, she felt that wouldn't be appropriate after the day they just had.

"Everything will be okay; it has to be," Judy thought to herself, as Nick held her while they were under the covers.

"Carrots," Nick said softly and quietly.

"Yeah," she replied with a faint voice.

"We will be okay," he said calmly.

Judy didn't reply; she just snuggled herself closer to Nick, who reached over her and turned the lamp off.

"I love you Carrots," Nick added with soft content.

"I love you too," Judy murmured as she quickly fell asleep.

Nick wanted to sleep too, both of them were exhausted more mentally than physically, but that was the problem for Nick. He didn't want to sleep because he feared that his mind at work was creating something far worse than the last nightmare he went through. He kept himself awake as long as he could, but it wasn't enough his energy was gone, Nick soon fell asleep alongside his wife.

* * *

"Jason put the gun down; no one else needs to get hurt!" Nick exclaimed trying not to look at the bodies of his friends.

At that moment Judy stood up out from where Nick had pushed her too.

"Judy get down!" Nick yelled with an order in his voice.

However, it was too late, and Jason pulled the trigger of his gun making one more loud BANG.

Judy fell, holding her stomach and Nick yelled with anger, "no!"

Nick shot the wolf putting two bullets in his chest, then he ran up to Judy and fell in front of her.

"Judy holds on," he cried out.

"I-It's ... your f-fault, w-why didn't you shoot him earlier?" Judy coughed out.

"I-I'm sorry Judy," he whimpered put just as she faded away. "It's all my fault," he said to himself.

"What," a lion said with surprise while running in. "You caused this?" Eric asked with anger. "You bastard!" He exclaimed pulling his gun out.

Just as Nick was feeling the bullet from Eric's gun, he sprung out of his bed in terror.

Judy awoke in a daze by Nick pushing her; she asked with a confused tone, "Nick what's?" Then she finished her sentence no longer with confusion, "wrong?"

Nick stood up from his bed quivering in fear still imagining Judy's dead body and her saying it was his fault the three of them were dead.

"I-It ... it's my fault ...," Nick whispered out.

"Nick it's not your fault," Judy said with sympathy.

Nick turned to Judy and replied with a scared tone, "I-It is my fault, I should have pulled the only gun we had on him, rather than pulling you to safety, I could have saved the chief and his wife."

"You had another dream didn't you?" She asked calmly. Nick sat down on their bed facing away from Judy, so she moved closer to him and asked, "what happened Nick? In your dream, what happened?"

Nick sighed and tried to control his shaking body, while he replied with a brittle voice, "T-That wolf ... Jason ... He shot you; the detective thought it was my fault a-and went to kill me, then I woke up."

Judy turned Nick' torso towards her and hugged him.

"It was my fault," he whimpered out.

"Don't say that you don't have to blame yourself for this," Judy begged.

"But it is," Nick said again, pulling away from Judy and standing up. "And if you die that will be my fault too," he added with self-hatred.

"Oh Nick," she said with sympathy, standing up and taking hold of his paw with hers.

"I'm too weak Judy," he cried out, falling to his knees "today my fear of losing you ... B-Because of these dreams my judgment of the situation w-was clouded, and that got them killed," Nick said with a weak, yet discontent voice.

Judy didn't know what to do like she had overheard her mother say on the phone to Nick, she had never been through something like this. She knew Nick had gone through loss, but in the stories, he told her he never blamed himself, or so he said.

Judy walked in front of him, and she looked into broken green eyes and said calmly, yet firmly, "it is not your fault, I promise you that." She hugged him and said again, "this is not your fault."

Nick replied with brittleness in his voice, "no. Maybe you're right it's not my fault, but losing you that will be."

"You won't lose me, Nick, because you're not weak; Nick, you are strong, you are stronger than anyone I know including myself, giving up your life three years ago to become a cop for me, that's strong. The night you told me you had fallen in love with me two and a half years ago that was a strength. There is not a single piece of you that isn't strong mentally or physically," she said with assurance.

"I just don't know how to stop these thoughts, i-it's scaring me," he replied calmly.

"Listen, Nick, asking for help will not make you weak, it shows that you know you need help, and that too is a strength," Judy replied with a soft voice before breaking their hug. "Sometimes we can't fix our problems, when we go to my parent's home, I want you to ask my dad about if he can help you," she added with content.

Nick thought about what she for a brief moment before he answered with a calm tone whipping his eyes of his tears, "O-Okay I will."

Judy went in for a quick kiss before she took Nick by the paw and stood him up.

Now standing tall above her Nick said with joy, "I love you, Judy."

"I know, I love you too honey," she replied with a soft tone. "Now let's go back to sleep," Judy insisted, and she got back onto their bed.

"I'm just going to clear my head; I'll come back to bed in a few minutes, okay," Nick replied as he opened their closet to grab clean clothes.

"Okay ... Don't go too far," Judy said as she pulled the blanket over herself.

"I won't," he added as he was pulling up a pair of jeans.

Nick grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his upper body; then he walked out of his and Judy's bedroom closing the door behind him.

"It's not your fault baby ... Because it's mine," Judy whispered to herself right after Nick left the room.

Nick walked out the front door; he went down the stairs and out the front entrance to the apartment building. He walked a few blocks before heading back home, but while he was walking, he thought about everything. He thought about what was coming next, who was going to replace the chief, how long would it be before they found a replacement, how was this going to play out?

When he opened the door to the apartment, he closed it slowly, for he didn't want to bother Judy. He assumed she had fallen asleep giving that Nick had left for nearly thirty minutes.

Nick checked the time on the clock that was hanging up in the front entrance to their home, and he saw how late it was.

"Four in the morning, jeez what am I doing?" He asked himself.

He tiptoed through the rooms until he came to his and Judy's bedroom, Nick opened the door which luckily didn't squeak on him when Nick opened it, and he slipped into bed beside wife.

* * *

"Judy ... Judy, come on it's nine in the morning," Nick whispered into her ear as he shook her subtly.

Judy grumbled before asking with a tired voice, "what time did you say it was?"

He looked at the clock and gave her the exact time, "nine o five AM."

Judy sat up and rubbed her eyes before asking with a calm voice, "when did you come home last night?"

"About thirty minutes after I left," Nick replied with a smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Judy asked confused as to how Nick could be happy after the horrible day they had.

He sighed and replied, "look if I'm always sad and depressed over yesterday I won't ever be able to move on, so being happy helps me think less about it."

"Don't you think it's a little early to be trying to move on?" She questioned.

Nick sat up straight facing away from Judy, and he answered calmly, yet lacking his cherry tone from before, "last night over the phone, your mother told me you've never lost anyone before and to help you through it, I was trying to make you happy by being happy myself."

Judy sat up and shuffled towards Nick, she sat back down beside him and said calmly, "I know my ears don't miss much. Honey, I appreciate what you're doing for me, but do me a favor and wait a day or two before you do this, I just can't do this right now."

Nick swayed head and looked at her, and he replied calmly, "alright, but I'm not going to sound all depressed, I will just not get super cheerful on you."

"Thank you," she added with a flat tone.

"We need to get packed; we are still going to your parents?" Nick asked as he went to their closet and opened it.

"Yes, but we have to go to the short ceremony at the town hall for the chief," she replied with an emotionless tone.

"We still have lots of time before that," Nick added as he pulled out two suitcases and placed them opened on the floor behind him. While he started to pack his and hers clothing he noticed Judy wasn't getting up from the bed, so he said with a faint smile, "Carrots we will be okay, we always are."

"I hope your right Nick, I hope you are," she replied as she finally stood up off their bed.

Ten minutes went by, and Nick finished packing the suitcases, Judy got dressed and groomed herself with a booming brush. Once she finished, she went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee of which Nick greatly desired. Nick had dressed in casual clothes earlier that morning, so once he groomed his exposed fur, he went into the kitchen where he found Judy pouring him and her coffee.

"Thanks," Nick said calmly, sitting down at the table.

Judy gave Nick the cup of coffee, and he gulped down everything in the mug within seconds of being given it.

"You want some more?" Judy asked holding up the pot of coffee.

"Please," he demanded.

Judy placed her cup down on the table; then she poured the rich, black coffee into Nick's mug and he immediately chugged down all the coffee in the cup.

Nick went to grab the pot, but Judy pulled it away from him and scolded him, "Nick two is enough, it's not okay to have too much caffeine."

"Carrots it's just one more cup, then no more," he insisted.

"Half a cup," Judy exclaimed, making a deal with him.

She again poured coffee into Nick's mug, but this time she only filled it up halfway, and again Nick drank it all in one gulp.

"I promise I won't have any more coffee okay," Nick said with content.

"Mhm," Judy mumbled as she finally took a sip of her coffee. soon after she finished her coffee, Judy asked with a lacking content, "we should call a cab, we are taking the train to Bunny Burrow right?"

"I'll call a cab," Nick answered, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

He placed his phone to his good ear after he had punched in the phone number. It rang for a few seconds before it as answered.

"Zootopia yellow cabs how may we be of service?" A male voice asked over the phone.

"Yes, I need a taxi at this address, 483, Park Drive," Nick replied quickly.

"Alright sir the cab is on its way," the voice answered right before hanging up the phone.

"I'll get the suitcases," Judy replied while she walked out of the kitchen.

She went back to their room to see the two cases filled with clothing; each one had one of their grooming brushes, their toothpaste, and toothbrushes. Judy grabbed them off the bed and dropped them to the floor, and the wheels hit the ground making a pound thump. She rolled them out of the room, back to the living room, and into the kitchen.

"Here," she said with a low tone.

Nick took hold of his suitcase, and he and Judy walked over to the front entrance, he opened the door, and they left their apartment. As they were coming outside the cab Nick had called for was just arriving, so Nick again took Judy's suitcase, and when the cab stopped, he opened the trunk and placed them lightly in the back. He closed it, then followed Judy into the back seat of the cab.

"Town Hall, please," Nick ordered politely.

"No problem," the male horse who was driving the cab replied.

After a twenty minute drive, the taxi arrived at Town Hall. Nick grabbed the two luggage bags from the back, and the taxi left.

Nick looked at Judy, and he notified that she was anxious, so he said with a calm, reassuring voice, "Carrots, this is only a short ceremony, there is nothing bad behind those doors."

"T-That's where you're wrong Nick," she replied anxiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked not knowing what she thought was bad.

"Animals are going to judge us because we survived and the Bogos didn't," Judy answered with a lacking confidence in her tone.

Nick bent down and replied with a kind voice, "no they won't, back when I was a criminal, I was blamed for everything, hated even. You and I both know it was because I was a cheap fox with nothing, but the intention of taking. Now that I'm a cop with you, we will never be hated or blamed for these kinds of things because we became the exact opposite of what everyone believes we are supposed to be."

"Are you sure?" She asked hoping he was correct.

"One hundred percent," he replied happily, but only with a faint grin, while he stood up off of his knees.

Both of them walked up to the doors, and Nick pushed them open, immediately they saw a couple of hundred animals standing and sitting waiting for the mayor to come and say a few words plus a few others to say a few of their thoughts and memories about the chief and his wife.

"See no one even noticed us walk in," Nick said point into the crowd.

They placed their suitcases by the door and started to walk through the crowd when Judy saw Clawhouser; she glanced at him while saying with empathy, "there's Ben, oh god he's crying."

"We should go and talk to him," Nick suggested with a soft voice.

The two agreed, so they walked through the crowd and up to the sobbing feline.

"Hey Ben," Judy said with a kind pleasant voice.

"Uh Hello, guys," clawhauser said with a stuffy like voice as he blew his nose into a tissue.

"How are you holding up buddy?" Nick asked kindly.

"Not well, h-how could this have happened?" Ben asked with a brittle voice, one nearing full breakdown within seconds.

"There was a wolf named Jason, you would remember him, he worked at the ZPD long before me, and Judy showed up," Nick said calmly and discreetly. "Well ... He wanted revenge, and he got it," he added with a lower tone than before.

"Oh my God," the big cheetah said with shock. "But I always thought that he was innocent, w-why would he do this? He said the day he got convicted that he would prove it wasn't him and he would get his job back. Why would he kill someone when all he wanted was to be innocent?"

"Well, I remember that he said someone gave him the information, which led to what happened yesterday, isn't that right Carrots?" Nick asked while looking at Judy who was in a daze

"Oh, uh ... Yeah," Judy said slightly confused as to what she agreed to.

Just as Nick was going to reply, the mayor came walking out and spoke into the mic, "Hello everyone; please take your seats." As everyone was taking their seat, Mayor Lionheart added with a content tone not showing any care for the chief's passing, "I am pleased you all came here today. We hope a lot of you have something to say about the Bogo family; it is truly a loss to this city, and we will choose the new chief of police very carefully." Then he said with a calmer tone, "and the first one to give a few words is someone who was good friends with Thelonious and Janet for a long time, sergeant detective Eric Short."

The mayor walked off to the side and up came Eric, unlike the mayor this lion dressed in his ceremonial uniform, not a suit and tie.

"Hello ... I think many of us are shocked by yesterday's events and the ones who were there when it happened the shock is much worse," he said glimpsing his eyes at Nick and Judy for a brief moment. "And I'm confident that some of what I'm going to say are what they would say themselves. I was a good friend of the chief and his wife, I knew them for most of my career, and they were truly the best at their jobs. Thelonious was the best chief of police this city has ever seen, and Janet was the nicest most confident nurse I ever had the pleasure of knowing," Eric said with sight happiness over the memories that were flooding through his mind. "I, and most of you, will miss them greatly and nothing will be the same, I just hope the pain will not last long," he added with a saddened tone. He had paused for a few minutes before he said with a broken voice, "thank you."

Eric left the stage and out of the main hall. Nick and Judy watched him like everyone else, but unlike them, they understood in some way what he was going through for, they were going through it themselves.

Six more animals went up and mentioned a few fond memories of their relationships with the chief and his wife, but none of them felt what Eric, Nick, and Judy felt.

Once it neared the end Judy whispered into Nick's good ear with a broken tone trying to hold back the tears, "Nick, I-I can't stay here any longer, can we go?"

"You go wait outside, I'm going to have a word with Eric," Nick answered with a soft voice.

Judy stood up and headed to the doors, Nick, however, went off to the side and followed the path Eric took when leaving. He walked up to another hall with a dozen or so rooms, and in one he saw an open door, in the room sat Eric who was on his phone flipping through photos he had of him he the Bogos.

"Hey there fur ball," Nick said starting the lion.

Eric looked up and replied with an annoyed tone, "don't ever call me that again."

"Noted," Nick answered while he pulled up a chair and sat down across from Eric who, towered above him. "you okay?" He asked with empathy.

"No, but I hope I will be soon, for me it's like losing a brother," Eric replied with a broken voice.

"You and me both, minus the brother part, but this is going to be hard for everyone, and especially Judy," Nick responded with a calm voice.

Eric was empathetic for a brief moment before he said with a kind tone, "Nick I want you to know I don't blame you for what happened, so please don't go blaming yourself.'

"I won't," he replied even though he had blamed himself, but hearing Eric tell him that it wasn't to blame on to him or his wife helped him with not blaming himself.

"And please tell Judy the same he added calmly.

"I will," Nick replied with a promising voice.

"Well Judy and I are going to her parent's farm for a few days, it's best to get away from the city, she and I have had a bad week on top of this," Nick said suddenly while standing up out of his chair.

"The mayor wants to speak with me, he stated that he'd got some big important thing for me to do, I just don't know what could be so important," Eric said curiously.

"Eric, are you blind?" Nick asked sarcastically.

"What do you know what he wants?" He asked with a now peaked interest.

"He wants you to replace the chief," Nick replied with an almost with content.

"Are you serious, I can't do that, how does he expect me to take charge, to take the position of my best friend who, just died?" Eric asked with a surprised tone.

Nick sat back down and replied calmly, "because he is a politician and politicians do what they can so they can stay in power, he's going to use this to his advantage. Lionheart knows you want to find out if there is more than one animal involved and there without a doubt is. He's hoping that you will use that drive for vengeance to catch the bad guys and when you do, he will say that thanks to his political choice to put you into power the bad guys were caught."

"So, should I take the job?" He asked with wonder.

Nick replied with an honest tone, "I think you should take the job, maybe his intentions are in the wrong place, but he is right." Nick stood up and added with a pleasant tone, "Now I have to go, Judy is waiting."

Eric stood up and replied, "yes well best not to keep her waiting; I'll see you at work."

"Yeah same," Nick quietly said as he started to walk away.

He walked back into the main hall and sneaked past the crowd not getting noticed by anyone. He grabbed his luggage and opened the door to see Judy sitting on the steps with her suitcase beside her.

"Hey Cottontail, you ready to leave?" Nick asked with a pleasant soft voice.

"What did you want to say to the detective?" She asked calmly yet with a flat tone.

"I just wanted to see if he was okay; you know he's probably going to replace the chief, kitty wants to talk to him about a crucial job," Nick replied calmly, sitting down beside her.

"Oh ...," Judy murmured.

"Come on; we should get going," Nick suggested.

"Yeah," she replied.

Nick stood up and extended his paw to Judy; she took hold of it, and he pulled her up. They both grabbed their suitcases off the ground and walked down the stairs. Nick waved his arm in the air, and a cab stopped for them, they got in, and Nick told the driver to take them to the nearest train station.

* * *

 **Hello, please tell me what you think of the chapter by leaving me a review, who would have thought I would be doing such a thing to Cheif Bogo, I feel a little weird doing that to him. anyway, I don't like goodbyes so ...**

 **Until next time**


	5. Pretending isn't The way

Chapter Five: Pretending Isn't The Way

It is not wrong to feel pain when a loved one or friend is taken by evil, but blaming yourself and never letting go, you only throwing yourself deeper into the darkness. By not letting the ones around you help, you hurt more, but if you let them help, only then can you finally make it out of the darkness.

* * *

Nick and Judy were best of friends, but they were also lovers; however, they were not just some couple of the same old love that filled the world, no Nick, and Judy had something more, they connected on a deeper more meaningful level. Some would even go as to say their spirits were intertwined. That may be true, but not even that connection could tell the other their past. That was something they needed to give up through their own voice. Of course, Judy willingly did this, but Nick had trouble telling her about the things that happened to him and how he dealt with them. She knew of only a few tipping points in his life if Nick was to help Judy through such a dark time in their lives it was going to take more than a cheerful tone and joy-filled smiles. He would need to give up his past and shed some light on the death of his parents; Nick would need to tell her how to deal with loss and what was the right way to deal with it.

"Thanks," Nick said with a flat tone as he was giving the cab driver a twenty dollar bill.

"Have a good day sir," the cabby chirped, right before he drove off.

Nick looked down at Judy, and he said calmly, "Carrots."

"Huh, what?" She replied as she came back to reality.

"The next train is five minutes from now, hurry up," he contently said.

"Oh, okay," she added as she followed him to a bench in the train station facing towards the tracks.

Nick sat down on the bench, and he had his suitcase in front of him, it was sitting on the ground its wheels pushed into the bottom of the case. Judy came up to him and sat down right up next to him; she dropped her suitcase on the ground its hardback landing making a thumb when it hit the ground.

"Nick," Judy said suddenly looking at him with a flat face.

"Yes Carrots," he replied while looking at her with a faint smile.

"How did we get Here?" She asked curiously and vaguely.

"What do you mean, how did we get where?" He asked confused as to what she wanted an answer to.

"I mean here in life, how did we become who we were before, us, before becoming who we are today?" She replied as she sat up straight.

"Well .. I ... Don't you already know how we got here, you were bullied by a jerk who gave you the determination never to give up, I was bullied by some kids in the Ranger scouts and my parents died when I was sixteen. That's how we became the animals we were, and you know the rest as to how we got here," he replied with an uncertain voice, still not sure why she wanted to know.

"I know how I got here, but what about you? how did you become the fox you were before me?" she asked desperately wanting an answer

Nick smiled then asked kindly, "what else do you want to know about my past? There isn't much you know."

"Oh I beg to differ," she said before getting interrupted by a train rolling into the station.

"Come on we will continue this on the train, Nick said as he got up grabbing his suitcase.

Judy agreed, and she followed him to the entrance of the train. They got onto the train going through a smaller door, but not the smallest one of course. They took their seats near the back of the train cart, and they pushed their luggage bags under their seats.

"Now where were we?" Judy asked with a firm tone.

"You said you beg to differ," Nick replied with a grin.

"Well I do, I think there is a lot to you I should know as your best friend and as your wife, things you should have had the trust to tell me a long time ago," she added with an almost begging like tone.

Nick sat up and replied with assurance, "I do have that kind of trust in you I trust you with everything, you just don't ask a lot of questions about me, you haven't asked this many questions from you ever."

"Well then, I'm going to ask more questions about your past," she answered with a subtle smile.

"I just have one question Carrots; why now?" Nick asked curiously.

Judy had sighed before she said with a calm softer tone, "because I want to know how you managed to make it through the loss of animals in your life before we met. I know it's different now, but I still need to know how you never broke down and gave up on life."

"You mean when I wasn't pretending to be okay around others?" He asked calmly.

"Yeah how you made it through a loss when you weren't doing the whole never let them see that they get to you, bid," she added curiously.

"Well uh ...," he said as he was trying to come up with an answer one that still wouldn't be the right way. "I told myself everything was going to be alright, every day I told myself that. Eventually, I could move on," he answered with a lie, for if Judy knew how he tried to make it through the pain of losing his parents, she would never be able to move on from the death of their friends.

"That's it?" She asked with surprise.

"Yeah that's what you wanted to know," he replied slouching his posture once again. "But you don't have to go through that alone, I'm here to help you through it, we have each other, and that will make it easier to believe it will be alright," he added with a smile of reassurance on his face.

"You're right we do have each other," she replied with a smile even though she didn't believe what he said he did was true for a second, she knew he wasn't that kind of animal before they met. 'But," she added with a lower tone.

"What?" Nick asked.

"You didn't tell yourself that, did you?" Judy asked calmly.

Nick looked into Judy's eyes and knew he couldn't get away with the lie he just told, that he would have, to speak the truth.

"Damn when did you lose that cute innocence of yours?" He said giving away to the fact that she was right.

She turned her body more toward him, and she replied calmly, yet firmly, "the moment being a cop became more than just fighting crime. When it became necessary to kill, for our job, when guns with bullets became the norm in our society, so please tell me why did you lie to me about how you coped with loss?"

"Oh God ...," he whispered to himself even though Judy could hear him. "I didn't deal with it, I ran from it because that's who, I was," he answered firmly After he sighed.

Judy finally realized after being with him for three years that his past was very broken; Nick used to be so broken and finding her mended him.

"Nick I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I just wanted to know if there was something else that could be done to make it through ... through this, because all I want to do now is forget a-all this pain," she whimpered with an apologetic voice.

Nick replied with a calm tone placing his paw on Judy's, "No Carrots it's okay, my past is dark. I didn't know how to tell you that pain will always be there ... that no matter what we do, we will always feel like this, maybe not as bad, or as often, but every once in a while you will find yourself weeping for who, you've lost. If you try to forget like I did, you start to lose the ability to feel anything, but three years ago that changed."

A tear dropped from Judy's eye; she still didn't fully understand what he meant, how there would be no end to it and no she was ten steps farther behind where she was.

"I ..," she said stopping herself with confusion and frustration.

"It's okay Judy, I know it doesn't make any sense, and I know you wanted to have some cheat code for this. There just isn't, no matter how many you lose you will always feel pain, it just fades into the back of your head quicker, but once in a while it all comes back to haunt you." He said with a saddened tone for he hated that what he said was true.

"Then how do I make it fade?" She asked with a begging voice.

"There really isn't a way that avoided unnecessary pain, but not blaming yourself doing not what I was last night, that will help in some way," he answered calmly.

Judy got her answer, but she still felt it was her fault, and that caused, even more, pain. She just hoped that the grief and self-disappointment would fade.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "As confusing as that was I do understand," she added with a soft voice.

Nick gave Judy a kiss on the lips, it only being brief, then when he pulled away, he said with content, "I love you, and we will make it through this."

"I love you too, and I hope you're right," she replied hope in her voice.

The train ride took some time, nearly four hours when they arrived at the train station in Bunny Burrow, they grabbed their suitcases and walked off the train. Nick looked around for Judy's parents, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Carrots, you did tell your mom when we were going to be at the train station right?" Nick asked hoping she had told Bonnie.

"Uh ... Sorry," she answered hesitantly, her ears drooping in discontent.

Nick was displeased, but he took a breath and replied, "it's okay Carrots we will just walk it's only a few kilometers away."

"A-Are you sure?" She asked, her face lighting up, for Nick wasn't mad.

"Yeah it'll be fun," he added with a cheery tone.

"Uh O-Okay," she replied looking down at the suitcase in her paw.

Nick looked at Judy, and he saw that she didn't want to walk, so he asked despite already knowing the answer, "You don't want to walk, do you?"

Judy's ear again fell, and she replied telling the truth, "no I don't."

"Then why didn't you just say that?" He exclaimed. He again took a breath and added calmly, "look, honey, I know this is hard so let's just grab a cab there is bound to be one here."

"I'm sorry I just don't want to be a bother for you, you're dealing with this much better than me, and I don't even know where to start," she stumbled out with a saddened voice.

Nick walked up to Judy and looked down upon her, and he said with assurance, "you are never a bother to me, you just need time to understand all this. It will be hard, just don't let what I told you on the train about how I dealt with loss get to you ... that is not how it is done."

Judy hugged Nick for a few seconds; then she let go of him. They walked over to the road and without a doubt there was a taxi waiting to pick up anyone who needed it.

"There," Nick said pointing to a cab sitting parked on the side of the road.

Judy followed Nick to the cab, they got in, and the driver took them to where they wanted to go. Nick and Judy didn't talk the whole five minutes they were in the cab, and when they got out and grabbed their luggage, they were in front of the hoops home.

"Home sweet home I suppose," Judy mumbled out with little care.

"Cheer up Carrots look a bunch of your brothers and sisters are on the front lawn they will be happy to see you," Nick replied with a subtle grin of content.

"Hi, there Mr. Fox," a little bunny said suddenly, startling Nick.

"Uh, hey there little guy what are you and your brothers and sisters doing?" Nick asked with a cheery look in his eyes.

"Tag!" He said while running away from one of his brothers.

"They're so innocent," Judy said calmly, wishing she was still like that.

"Come on let's go find your mom," Nick replied with a smile yet, with empathy for he understood what she wanted.

While they walked up to the house, another bunny noticed them.

"Hey, mom they're here!" The bunny not much smaller than Judy yelled into an open window of the home.

"Kate is that you?" Judy asked with surprise.

"Yeah it's me, it has been a long time," Kate replied standing up out of her chair and putting her phone in her pocket.

"You've gotten taller and well ... bigger," Judy happily said, hiding her sadness from her sister.

"Yeah I've done a lot of that in the past nine months; you guys should really come up here more often," Kate said with a happy tone. "Under better circumstances of course," she added with a calmer less joyful tone.

"So ... you know?" Nick asked with a flat tone.

"Yeah mom tried to hide it from me, but social media exists and what happened made the news in more places than just America, that happening to someone in that position doesn't go unheard of in most places," Kate answered with sympathy.

"Yeah," Nick replied with a groan for his ear was starting to bother him again.

"How did you get that?" Kate asked pointing to Nick's ear curiously.

"I uh ... was shot," Nick replied scratching the back of his head.

"Oh was it by the guy who, well you know," she implied hesitantly not sure how to word her sentence as not to sound harsh.

"No it was someone different," Nick answered with a flat voice.

"Oh, well then, tell me what happened," Kate implored.

"Well Carrots and I were getting off our first shift and heading to a restaurant for lunch when I was pumped into by some ferret, and to make a log story short he stole my gun we chased after him, and he shot me with it," Nick answered quickly.

"What happened to him?" She asked with curious eyes.

"Well ...," Nick said pausing for a brief moment.

"I shot him! ... in the eye," Judy said finishing Nick's answer for him.

"Oh!" She said with surprise.

"Oh, what?" Bonnie asked while opening the front door to the farmhouse.

"Mom," Judy said while reaching in for a hug.

"Hey, sweetie how are you feeling?" Judy's mom asked with a muffled voice, for her face was stuffed into Judy's chest.

Judy pulled away from her mom and replied, "I could be better."

"Don't worry it'll be alright trust me," Bonnie said with a gentle tone and smile.

"now Kate, oh what?" Bonnie asked now returning to her first question before she walked out onto the front porch.

"That's what everyone keeps on telling me," Judy replied with an annoyed tone, for she didn't really believe that it was going to be okay, even after what Nick had said earlier.

"Judy shot someone that is what oh is about!" Kate exclaimed taking a seat being surprised that Judy was capable of such a thing.

"Kate," Bonnie said sternly looking into her younger daughters eyes with an unmoved feeling over the new information.

"Mom, how can you not be in shock Judy killed someone?" She asked with even more shock.

"Kate it happens sometimes, and I can't stop it," Judy said looking at her with a calm face.

"You mean this isn't the first time you've done this?" She asked being even more alarmed than before.

"Kate that's quite enough, your sister doesn't need you questioning the things she's done," Bonnie exclaimed with a stern tone.

"But!" She got out before her mother shushed her.

"Go inside please," Bonnie demanded, but with a forced calm tone, for she was not amused by Kate's unfiltered thoughts.

"Ugh," she grumbled out getting back up in going in through the door beside Bonnie.

"Well that was unexpected," Nick said suddenly with a very subtle chuckle in his tone with a slight grin.

"She has no filter sometimes," Bonnie said with relief.

"It's okay mom, I understand how hard it can be to accept something like that being done by me, I had a hard time accepting it, and I still do," Judy replied calmly, taking a seat in one of the chairs on the front deck they were all on.

"Hey uh, where is Stu?" Nick asked changing the subject to try and lighten the mood.

"Oh Stu is Busy in one of the fields like Stu always is, but he should be back later. Oh that reminds me later tonight I need to go over to Gideon Gray's we have some business to go over, Stu should be back by then, can't leave all these crazies alone," she answered happily. Suddenly Bonnie noticed Nick's ear and she gasped in surprise, "Oh my goodness, you're so tall I didn't even see your ear, what happened?"

"Oh yeah, that ... if you were here five minutes earlier, you would've heard me tell Kate I was shot," Nick replied with a flat tone.

"By who?" She asked in shock.

"Oh you know some bad guy took my gun shot me with it and now he's dead," Nick replied scratching the back of his head while he spoke.

"Oh so this is what Kate was so upset about," Bonnie added with a calmer tone.

"Yeah," Judy said with a calm tone. "But can we please stop talking about all this ... we came here to get away from everything that happened not talk about," she added annoyed that they were discussing work.

"Sure Carrots, why don't we go inside," Nick suggested happily.

"Yeah I've got some cookies I think you're going to like," Bonnie added with a cherry voice.

Nick extended his paw to Judy, and she took it, he pulled her up, and he gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. All three of them went inside; the kitchen was close to the front door all they had to do was walk through a short hall and then they were in a large room with tall ceilings.

The house was built was the intention of there being animals slightly bigger than Nick living in it, so there wasn't just extra head room from the ceilings, but in most door frames as well. The house was practically a mansion, but of course, there were quite the amount of renovations done to it so the Hopps could have more room for all their children. Big rooms were turned into four or five smaller rooms with shorter doors, it made the already eleven bedrooms into fifty, and all of them had a few bunnies sleeping in them at night. However, there were two big rooms larger than the rest, Bonnie and Stu's bedroom and one guest room.

"What kind of cookies are you giving us?" Nick asked politely as he and Judy sat down in some chairs.

"Why don't you try them and find out," she insisted as she gave two to him and two to Judy.

Nick took a bite out of one and his taste buds melted from the incredible flavor.

"Blueberry, oh gosh are these amazing!" He exclaimed with content.

"I figured you'd love them," she replied with a smile.

"Do you have any almond milk?" Nick asked while he grabbed a few more cookies from the plate in Bonnie's paws.

"Yes indeed I do," she answered placing the plate down on the table.

"Can you get two glasses?" Judy asked right before taking a bite out of one of the cookies given to her.

"No problem sweetheart," Bonnie replied while opening one of the two fridges in the kitchen.

She grabbed a carton of almond milk, and she placed it on the counter after she closed the refrigerator door. Bonnie grabbed two plastic cups from a cabinet, the majority of them being plastic. She filled up the cups, and she walked over to them and placed the milk filled cups in front of them.

"There you go ... enjoy," Bonnie said calmly.

"Thanks," Nick replied with a smile.

Nick looked to Judy, he couldn't help, but notice how much pain she was trying to hide. He realized that he couldn't pretend to be happy that it wasn't the way to make it through this loss, what Nick needed to do was help Judy realize that she was doing what he would do before they met.

* * *

A few more hours went by, and it neared seven PM Bonnie was getting ready to leave, she had to get some paperwork done with Gideon and now was the time, but before she left she walked into a conversation, she didn't expect to her that night.

"Judy we need to talk some more about this," Nick said almost begging for her to sit and talk.

"I can't Nick, this is too much for me," Judy cried out as she started to walk away.

Nick stood up from the chair he was sitting in, he grabbed Judy's shoulder lightly gripping it to stop her, and he said with an, even more, begging tone, "Judy please." He turned her around and said with empathy in his soft tone, "I know this is hard, believe me, I know better than most when it comes to this. What I've done to forget pain all my life, hell what I was doing pretending to be happy to help you that isn't the way ... pretending isn't the way."

"I-I'm sorry, I just can't take thinking about it," she whimpered out looking away from Nick avoiding eye contact with him.

Judy pulled away from Nick leaving him there standing in the kitchen not knowing what to do next.

While she walked out, she saw her mother standing near the corner of a wall separating the kitchen from a small hall that led to the living room.

"Mom!" Judy exclaimed in surprise not expecting to run into her. "Did ... did you hear all that?" She asked hoping she would say no.

"He's right you know," she replied calmly.

Judy wiped her eye then said with discontent, "not you too."

"Judy," she said while her daughter walked off holding back more tears.

She quickly gave up on trying to talk to her, so she walked into the kitchen to see Nick sitting in a chair leaning his head on his paw.

"I think we've all done this before," she said calmly to Nick who had seen her walk in.

"Do what?" He asked as he sat up straight.

"Pretend we're alright when we are really not ... look I heard the conversation you just had with her," Bonnie replied calmly.

"Oh," he said with a flat tone.

Bonnie walked up to him and pulled out a seat, she sat down in it and said with an understanding tone, "Look I've been through this before when I was younger like much younger, I lost my mother to cancer. I tried to pretend that everything was fine suppressing the pain, I never mourned for her, until I met Stu. Believe it or not, Stu had already lost both his parents to strokes when I met him; when he wasn't the funniest bunny I knew, he was empathetic he showed me that you do need to mourn for the loved ones you've lost. He said that never grieving will only make it worse when you break and the emotions that you have hidden for so long flood into your life."

"Stu really said that?" Nick asked with surprise because Stu never seemed to be the empathetic type.

"Yes he did, and when I broke down, and I couldn't pretend I was fine, he was there for me every step of the way. When my father died of tuberculosis, Stu was there to make sure I did what was needed to mourn and make it through the pain," she replied with a kind smile.

"I never knew how your parents passed, you have my sympathy," Nick said well some surprise.

"Thank you, however, what I'm trying to say is, don't let her do what you and I have done, be her husband care for her emotional health as much as you do for her physical health. Judy is strong, but she isn't strong enough to take the path she is on, no one is," Bonnie added with a pleasant voice as she stood up from her seat. "Well I need to get going, have a lot of things to go over with Gideon," she said with a happy tone.

"Yes well, I hope it doesn't take too long," Nick replied as he too stood up from his chair.

Bonnie started to walk away, but she stopped, she turned around and said with a calm, soft voice, "you know me, and Stu haven't stated this, and we should have, but we love you like a son, Nick."

"You didn't have to say it; I could tell you guys did, somehow ... despite Judy's past with berry boy, when you two found out about Judy and me you never made as big of a deal like she, and I thought it would be, you two have on only showed me love and kindness," he said with a smile on his face and a happy voice.

"Bye Nick," she said calmly.

Nick replied kindly yet with a flat tone, "Goodbye Bonnie."

He decided to do what Bonnie had said, but he knew Judy had needed a bit more time before he threw more onto her plate. So, he made another decision, and it would help not only him but Judy As well.

Nick left the kitchen, and he walked through the house until he came up to Bonnie and Stu's bedroom. He knocked on the door lightly and asked with a soft tone, "Mr. Hopps, may I come in?"

Immediately the door opened and looking up at Nick was Stu, he had a big smile on his face while he replied happily, "no need my boy I was just about to go and start dinner."

"Well, actually there is, I ... Uh, I need to talk to you about something very ... Um personal," Nick stumbled out nervously.

"Oh, well step right in," he said with surprise, he never expected Nick to come to him about a personal matter.

Nick bent down under the door frame, and he closed the door behind himself.

"What is it you need to talk about?" Stu asked curiously turning around and looking back up at Nick.

"It's a bit tricky to explain, but four days ago I ... I started having dreams, nightmares, terrifying, unbearable dreams," he said with hesitance in his voice.

"W-What happens in the dreams?" Stu asked now with worry in his tone.

"Before I tell you, I just want you to know I'm only telling you this because Judy said to trust you, and Bonnie told me about how you helped her through a tough time in her life," Nick said quickly.

"O-Okay," he replied.

Nick sighed, and he took a deep breath before he said with a still nervous voice, "The dreams are about ... Judy ... They are about her ... dying,"

"Oh!" Stu said in shock having no clue how to deal with this new information.

"They ... scare me ... more than anything, I-I keep seeing her face as she dies in my arms," Nick added with a tremble in his voice, for even talking about the dreams caused the petrifying images from the nightmares to resurface and that scared him.

"Nick, what is it you were hoping I could do?" Stu asked calmly with a little tone.

"Tell me what I can do to stop these nightmares," he begged with teary eyes.

"Listen, I assume Bonnie told you how I helped her when we met, but this ... this is different from what I've gone through in my life, I'm sorry I can't help," Stu said with a saddened tone. "But, I know who can," he added with a more confident tone.

"Who?" Nick asked with a wanting in his voice.

Stu answered with a louder more content voice, "He's an old friend of mine, an otter named Matthew White, I've known him longer than Bonnie, he is the reason I could help Bonnie when she was going through her bad times. He helped me when I needed it."

"A shrink?" Nick said with shock, for he didn't like shrinks

"Yes, but he's not some ordinary therapist, I went to five or six therapists before I ran into Mathew, he's understanding, and he never has the wrong thing," Stu replied with an assuring voice. "And his office is in Zootopia," he added calmly.

"I never thought I'd say this to someone telling me to see a shrink, but thank you," Nick replied with a gratified tone.

"It's nothing Nick, I'm always happy to help you, you're married to my daughter that ... that makes you my son, and I never leave my kids without help," he said with a kind tone and smile.

Nick went up to Stu and hugged him, he pulled away after a few seconds standing back up straight, and he happily said, "You don't know how long it has been since I've had anyone call me their son."

"I'm honored to call you my son," Stu replied happily. "Listen, despite me having a bad mindset when it came to foxes, three years ago I changed how I view you and every other Fox, you're not an evil species, I see that truth in you, I see it in the love you have for Judy. Now I don't see anyone else being perfect for her other than you," he said with pure honesty.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Nick replied with a thankful voice.

As the silence began to fall, Stu said suddenly changing the subject entirely, "Yes well, time I get dinner ready, shall we."

"Mhm," Nick replied as he followed the old bunny, who opened the door to the room.

* * *

A few more hours went by, and the whole Hopps family ate dinner except for Judy, who decided to hide away in the guest room. Nick, however, helped alongside a few of the older bunnies to serve all the kids. He also helped with a few chores, and surprisingly no one asked about his ear, he assumed Bonnie had told Stu and Kate had told a bunch of her siblings, the ones, who cared for that matter. Once he had finished with chores, he helped Stu get his children to bed, but only until Bonnie came home, that's where he went to take care of an important animal.

Nick knocked on the door to the guest room, and he said through it with a soft voice, "Carrots, may I come in?"

"No one said you couldn't," she said back to him with a flat tone.

He opened the door to see Judy lying on the bed looking at her phone screen.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked curiously, yet with a smile as he came up to the bed and sat at the foot of it.

"Looking at photos, why?" She asked in return with a lacking care in her voice.

"Can't a husband be curious about what his beautiful wife is doing?" He replied as he moved up more on the bed and fell flat beside her.

Judy turned her head to see Nick looking at her with a sense of 'I want to help you' in his green eyes.

"Nick, what is it?" She asked with intuition.

"I think you know," he replied calmly.

Judy sat up and looked towards the wall in front of them; she said with a forced emotionless tone, "not now,"

Nick sat up, and he pleaded with her, "No Judy now is the time, if you do what I did the pain, you're trying to spare yourself now will be a thousand times worse when you break." Nick placed one paw on Judy, and he murmured, "don't bottle it up don't mess up like me, you are better than that."

For nearly five minutes they were like this, Nick had his head down with his paw on her shoulder, and he was silent until he heard a subtle weep.

Nick looked up to see Judy looking at him with tear filled eyes and she said to him with a brittle voice, "I'm sorry Nick."

"Shh ... it's okay," his replied as he pulled her into his embrace. "Just let this out, don't bottle it up," he whispered into her ear with a soft voice.

"I miss them, Nick," Judy cried out.

"I know, I know ... I miss them too," Nick replied kindly.

Nick held Judy in his arms comforting her while she mourned her lost friends. Some time went by, and she stopped her weeping, she gave Nick a kiss on the lips.

"We should go to sleep," Judy said with a sniffle.

Nick smiled and replied, "Sure Carrots we can go to sleep."

Nick said he would sleep, but that wasn't true, he did not want to have the chance of seeing Judy die in his dreams. So, while Judy brushed her teeth, Nick went into the kitchen and searched for something to help keep him up.

"Come on there's got to be something in here with tons of caffeine," he said to himself while he searched through a cabinet drawer.

He closed the drawer and went to the next one. Nick started to look at bottles to see what they were and he grabbed one that read caffeine.

"Oh thank god, caffeine pills," he said in relief.

Nick opened the small bottle and took four pills each of them being one hundred milligrams of caffeine. He bent his head up, dropped the pills in his mouth, and he swallowed all four at once.

When he put the bottle back, Judy came out to see him.

"What are you looking for?" She asked curiously.

"Oh ... just looking for some Advil," he replied with a calm tone as he pulled the bottle of Advil from the drawer.

He popped the bottle open and took two pills, and he again put his head up and dropped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them. He looked back at Judy and smiled.

"come on let's go to bed," Nick happily said as he walked up to Judy and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him.

"You know I love you Carrots," he said while they went to the guest room.

"I love you too Nick," Judy said before she opened the door to their room, closing it behind them.

Nick carefully pulled off his shirt, and he tossed it on the ground.

"Don't say it Carrots, it's not that big a deal, and besides there is nothing to put it in," he said with a stern yet calm voice.

"I wasn't going to say anything," she replied with a genuine smile, for the first time in days.

"Mmhm, likely story," Nick said with a grin as he pulled off his pants.

"Better lock the door," she said with a devious smile of her own as she undid the buttons on her shirt.

Nick reached behind him and did so; he twisted the lock making it impossible for anyone to walk in on them. He moved closer to Judy, and he placed both his paws on her cheeks which were as hot as fire, Nick moved in and kissed her making them fall back onto the bad, he hovered over her with his paws on her face and his lips locked with hers. The kiss repeatedly breaking so they could breathe, but after four minutes Nick pulled away from her. He pulled off Judy's pants, and he smiled as she pulled off his underwear.

"Carrots we are in your parent's home," Nick said deviously.

"Yeah so don't get too loud," she replied with a grin.

"Me! What about you-," he said before she pulled him back down into another full-blown kiss.

In the matter of a few minutes, their night went from mourning to romance, and that was okay, the only problem was, they had to be careful.

* * *

 **Oh hello again, I hope you liked the chapter I figured I should give this story some sort of relief from a bunch of bad stuff ...**

 **Anyway I hope you liked the chapter please tell me what you think of it by dropping a review for me to read, I appreciate every one of them and all of you guys just for reading my story. as you can clearly tell by now I don't like goodbyes so ...**

 **Until next time**


	6. Can't Make it Out Alright

Chapter Six: Can't Make it Out Alright

Fear of your unconscious thoughts of which you have no control will ultimately destroy your conscious mind and possibly your life, for the only thing we fear more than fear is ourselves.

* * *

Judy had fallen asleep after the love making they shared; Nick, however, couldn't the caffeine pills he took kept him wide awake, doing exactly what he wanted them to do. He was up all night, and when morning came, Judy awoke facing Nick seeing him smiling at her while he was rubbing her shoulder. However, how long would the new found happiness last would they go back to the way things were, or would there be more pain in store for them?

"Rise and shine Carrot cake," Nick whispered happily.

"Hey gorgeous," she replied with a smile.

"Come on let's get something to eat," Nick said as he sat up and stretched.

'What time is it?" Judy asked as she too got up.

Nick looked at his phone on the small night table he clicked the power button and the time popped up, and it read six thirty-seven AM.

"Almost six forty AM," he answered getting up off the bed his uncovered body being revealed from the blanket that was concerning him.

"Well you might want to get some clothes on before you go walking out of this room," Judy said while looking at Nick's toned body of which she adored so much, of course, she also loved what he could do with his body.

Judy got out of bed and leaned against Nick with her own nakedness.

Nick, of course, being a Joker said with a grin, "hmm ... are you sure that's what you want me to do?"

Judy chuckled then replied happily, "no, but you have to."

"Well ...," he said with a soft tone as he rode his finger across her lips and down to her neck. "That would mean you need to cover up that perfect little body of your own," Nick added right before he gave Judy a kiss.

"Yes well that is something we can't really do here, so get some clothes on," Judy demanded, but with a happy tone.

Nick smiled, then he backed away and grabbed his suitcase, he opened it up and grabbed some clean clothes from it, they were very everyday clothes a white t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Nick stopped wearing the clothes he had before he met Judy, in fact, most of the clothes from then, were thrown away or given to some charity. Nick felt that when his life changed his life wasn't a super easy vacation, that had ended, the way Nick dressed had to reflect that. So, he replaced his clothes with work uniforms a few suits and just overall just anything other than Hawaiian like clothes.

Judy grabbed her clothes from her own luggage she put on a plaid dress shirt and a pair of her own jeans. Once they were both dressed, Nick unlocked the door to the bedroom, and they both walked out of it.

Immediately they both noticed a difference in the smell the aroma of sweat had gone and they both knew what it was.

"Nick," Judy said calmly.

"Yeah," he replied as they both stood outside the guest room.

"Get something to cover up that smell, my parents can't know what we did last night," she answered quietly.

Suddenly Kate came from around the corner and asked with a smirk on her face, "What did you guys do?"

They both looked at her in surprise not knowing what to say.

"Uh ... I don't know what you're talking about," Nick replied hesitantly giving Judy a glimpse.

"Did you two have sex?" She asked with a louder tone.

"Kate, keep it down," Judy demanded with a whisper.

"Oh my god you did didn't you!" She exclaimed with a huge smile

"Quiet," Judy demanded. "Yes, don't tell Mom or Dad that we did this in their house," Judy asked, with a slight begging tone.

"Don't worry I won't, I promise," Kate answered with a smile.

Judy sighed in relief and said with a thank full tone, "thank you Kate." she looked at Nick to see him holding back his laughter as best he could, and she said with an annoyed tone. "Are you kidding me right now?"

Nick broke, and he laughed historically while he tried to say, "I-I'm sorry haha it's just ..."

"Whatever Nick, let's just get something to eat," Judy replied dismissing his humor for the situation.

"Well, We have a lot of things to eat. What do you two want?" Kate asked. Calmly.

"Well I could go for some blueberry cereal," Nick answered with a grin.

"That's all you ever want," Judy replied with a smile and content tone of her own.

"Well, it's the greatest breakfast ever ... so, yeah it's what I want," he added happily.

"Okay, you can have that while I have some delicious pancakes which I'll make myself," She replied with a stern voice.

"God no wonder you fell for each other, you're both just perfect for one another," Kate blurted out.

"Mhm well ... I thank you for that great compliment," Judy happily said with a smile.

"Alright, where is your cereal?" Nick asked with content changing the subject.

"It's in the pantry I'll show you," Kate replied with a smile as she began to walk towards the pantry with Nick following her.

Judy didn't follow; she went off to the kitchen, and she started preparing the ingredients for her pancakes.

Nick and Kate reached the pantry which was its own large room since the Hopps had such a large family they needed lots of space for food.

"So Kate ... what should I call you besides your name?" Nick asked suddenly while he opened the door to the room.

"Uh ... why?" She replied confused as to what he was even talking about.

"Well I give everyone I know a nickname," he said putting emphases on the word nickname, trying to give away the reasoning for giving them to animals.

"Oh I see," she said while following Nick into the pantry.

"Yes, now I thought maybe I could call you ...," Nick said pausing briefly to consider nicknames.

"Or you could just call me what everyone calls me," Kate suggested firmly.

"What's that?" Nick asked happily while he grabbed the box of cereal he wanted.

"KHOP, it's like IHOP, but with a K for Kate, my boy-," she replied suddenly breaking her train of thought.

"Did ... did I just hear boyfriend come from your mouth?" Nick asked with a peaked interest in his voice.

"I didn't say anything," she answered with agitation in her tone.

"KHOP, is that anxiety I hear in your voice?" Nick asked with a big grin on his face as they stood in the pantry Nick making eye contact, but Kate doing her best not to look into his searching, emerald eyes.

"N-No," she replied with hesitation.

Just as Nick was about to speak Judy was at the door to the pantry, and she asked with a curious, yet content tone, "What's taking you two so long to get a box of cereal?"

"Kate has a boyfriend," Nick said with a grin.

"I never-," she said before getting stopped by Judy.

"You have a boyfriend?" She exclaimed.

"Shut up, you don't want me telling Mom or Dad about you two doing it last night then you won't say anything about this," Kate demanded.

"Oh snap blackmail!" Nick pointed out with a slight chuckle.

"Kate this is not the same," Judy said with a calmer tone. "Look let's just get what we need from the pantry, then we can talk about this," she added with a flat tone.

"Fine," she replied with frustration. Kate pushed past Nick and Judy and headed off to the kitchen to leave Nick and Judy in surprise.

"Well, that happened," Nick said suddenly.

"Yup and now we have to deal with it," she replied calmly yet slightly annoyed.

Judy grabbed the pancake batter which was in a cardboard box, they both left the pantry and went straight to the kitchen to see Kate sitting at the table with her one of her paws pressed against her forehead and the other flat down on the table.

"Kate this is serious why would you go against Mom and dad on something like this?" Judy asked with a firm tone as she sat down beside Kate placing the box she had in her paw on the table.

"Because I couldn't stand not telling him about my feelings and I think these rules are stupid," Kate answered with a calm tone unlike before.

"Hold on I think I'm missing something here why don't your parents know and why can't they?" Nick asked slightly confused as he stood behind the two of them with his head scoring above them both.

"My parents have this rule about dating, and that rule is we can't date until we are eighteen, they said that it's better to wait, so we don't get our hearts broken at such a young age," Judy answered with content. "And you should follow that rule," she added with a firm tone while pointing to Kate.

"Wait," Nick said leaning down putting his head between the two of them. "Is that why you never dated before me?" He asked curiously giving Judy a grinning look.

'Yes, it is," Judy replied.

"Well I guess I have your parents to thank for us then," Nick added happily standing back up straight, walking over to Judy's side and taking a seat beside her.

"Look, him and I are perfect for one another, I'm not going to continue to follow a rule that's stopping me from being with the one I love," she said with a stern tone.

"Wait so now it's love?" Judy asked with surprise.

"I've known him since I was ten and I've had feelings for him for two years ... look I'm not going to break up with him, I was waiting to tell Mom and dad about this because this exact thing would happen, but much worse," she said with annoyance.

"Kate, you can't keep this from them, the longer you wait, the worse it will be when they do find out, and what if they figure it out before you have a chance to tell them? What will you do?" Judy asked with concern for her sister.

"I-I ... I don't know," she answered with hesitation.

"Okay Carrots, I'm taking over this," Nick said calmly.

"O-Okay," she said willingly.

Nick smiled, then he stood up, walked over to sit down beside Kate, and he said with content, "Great, now listen KHOP what you've done can't be undone. Your parents won't make you break up with him ... because well, that would defeat the purpose of their rule, but they will still be disappointed in you, It won't last very long parents forgive, but they will be disappointed for some time. Now don't be alarmed by that you did defy them, and any parent would be disappointed. What you can do now is tell them the truth if you do that now, it will show them that you're somewhat mature enough to date this guy all because you were willing, to tell the truth."

"His name is Jeremiah, and he's an Arctic hare ... and thanks that helped," she answered with a faint smile.

"There you see now that wasn't so hard, but that was the easy part, it will be hard to tell your parents about this, but when you do the release of stress will be incredible," Nick added happily.

"Thanks, Nick," she said with a more distinguished smile of content.

Nick smiled then he got up and walked to the counter where he left the cereal. He opened the box and poured the blueberry cereal into his bowl. Nick grabbed almond milk from one of the fridges, and he poured it into the bowl as well.

"Hey you know what I'm not really feeling pancakes anymore I'll just have some of that blueberry cereal," Judy said suddenly as she stood up from her chair.

"Okay Carrots I'll get you some and what about you KHOP?" Nick replied happily.

"Sure I could go for some," Kate answered with content.

"Alright two bowls of blueberry cereal coming right up," he added with joy with a smile.

Nick grabbed two more bowls, and he filled them up with cereal and almond milk, then he walked over to the two bunnies and gave them their bowls. Nick went back to get his, he placed it beside his wife's, and he sat down next to her.

* * *

The three of them talked while they ate and they also had coffee with their breakfast. However, Nick decided not to have some. He figured the best way not to let Judy worry about him sleeping was to pretend he did so Nick would need to get caffeine some other way and he already knew how.

Nick suddenly broke his laughter with a subtle grunt of pain.

"You feeling okay?" Judy asked with concern.

"Yeah I'm okay just a bit of pain that's all, I'll just take some Advil for it," he said while standing up to go over to the drawer that had the Advil in it.

He opened the drawer, and instead of grabbing only Advil he also grabbed the bottle of caffeine pills, and he stuck them in his pocket. Nick dropped the two Advils in his mouth and swallowed them.

"I'll be right back just need to use the bathroom," he said with a smile.

"Okay," Judy replied with lacking concern for him going to use the restroom.

Judy turned her head back to Kate, and she grinned as she said, "So ... tell me is he hot?"

"Oh, Jeremiah ... well, let's just say I don't think I can do better than him, well no. If I was you, then I couldn't do any better. I mean come on Judy he's stunning, Nick's hot," she said with a devious grin.

Judy replied taking the compliment without hesitation, "Yeah I guess he is not bad looking, not to mention when he was at the academy Nick got into working out, he lost most of his fat and became very lean and muscular. I think he's going for a thin, lean, yet amazingly healthy look over a huge muscled one."

"What about, you know down there ... how's he doing with that?" Kate asked hesitantly with her ears falling as she knew it was something she probably shouldn't have asked.

"Kate! How could you ask me that?" Judy replied with surprise in her voice.

"I-I'm sorry ... it doesn't matter, forget I asked," she said with regret.

"But! Since you've asked I'll tell you," Judy said with a smile.

"Wait, what ... w-why?" She asked curiously.

"Because I haven't told anyone before and when you live with Nick for as long as I have you start to say and to things like him and being slightly dirty-minded is one of the things you start to do," she replied with a grin.

"Well tell away," she said with a happy voice.

"Now when we first you know ... did it I was curious about ... size, like did you know that all canines have this thing at the end called a knot and yeah the name fits it perfectly its like double the width of the rest of it. Anyway, I was curious as to what was typical for a fox, I'll just put it this way the internet is a strange place and well I got my answer, and he's ...," she said stopping herself before giving her an answer. "He's big for a fox," she said whispering it to her. "And trust me if it were ... well bigger I don't think it would work," she added with a louder tone.

"Okay I don't need to hear anything else I get it," Kate said with a slightly ominous surprised tone. "God, you're so ... you're ... I didn't think I'd ever hear those words come from your mouth," Kate stuttered out.

"Oh my god, I'm turning into hottie over there," Judy said with shock. She gasped then said with surprise, oh my god I'm even using a nickname like him."

While Kate and Judy talked about Nick and his looks among other features of him, he was in the bathroom, but he wasn't using it for the toilet.

Nick looked into the mirror; then he turned on the tap water, and he splashed his face with cold water. He looked down, and he pulled the pills from his pocket, and he looked at them.

"God is this what I've come to taking caffeine pills to stay awake?" Nick asked himself. "Oh how that sounds cheesy when I say it out loud," he added. Nick closed his eyes for a second, and he could see images from dreams, he opened them and said without hesitation, "fuck it."

Nick popped the lid and took three pills he put them in his mouth, and he took a swig of the tap water to help push them down when he swallowed the pills.

"What am I going to do?" He asked himself with self-disappointment.

Nick flushed the toilet to cover up the fact that he was taking caffeine pills which under normal conditions would be fine, but taking three pills was six hundred milligrams of caffeine and not having slept for more than two days and over exerting himself. The energy crash would be unbearable, he would need to go to bed, and Nick didn't want that. He finished up in the restroom and went back to the kitchen to see Kate and Judy laughing.

"Well, what did I miss?" Nick asked with a cheerful tone.

"Oh nothing just some girl stuff," Judy replied stopping herself from laughing.

"Oh say no more," he said completely losing interest in their conversation. "Anyway Carrots, what do you want to do today?" Nick asked suddenly while walking over to her.

"I'm not sure I was thinking just take it easy you know," Judy replied with content.

"So what do you want to do as in taking it easy?" He asked adding to his question.

"Uh, I don't know maybe just watch a little TV and uh ... yeah watching television," she answered calmly.

"Okay the TV it is ... for now," Nick said while taking his seat beside Judy.

Nick sat down, but when he did the bottle of pills he had could be seen in his pocket, and Judy noticed it.

"Nick, what's that in your pocket?" She asked curiously, pointing to the back pocket of his pants where the bottle stuck out.

"Uh, what?" He replied trying to avoid the question.

"Those," she said again pointing to the pill bottle that was clearly visible in his pants.

"Oh, those ... those are ... Advil," he said with an unsure tone as if he was coming up with the answer on the spot.

"Nick that bottle doesn't have Advil in it, one the bottle is still on the counter, two if they were ours from home you wouldn't have had the need to take some from here. So, I'll ask again what are those?" Judy said completely destroying his lie. Nick was silent looking down at the table while he bit his lip in avoidance and Judy came to an assumption as to what they were, so she said with worry, "Nick are you taking a prescription drug?"

He immediately looked up and replied with surprise, "what! No ... they're not a prescription drug, I wish they were for this pain in my ear, but I'm not."

"Then what are they?" She implored again.

Nick sighed, then he finally answered her question with hesitation, "T-There ... caffeine pills okay."

"Oh ... h-how did you get those and why are you taking them?" Judy asked slightly relieved that he wasn't taking an illegal drug, but still very curious why he wasn't willing to say why he had caffeine pills.

"From here, I don't know why parents have them but thank god they did because...," he replied stopping himself before he told her the exact reason why he was taking them.

"My dad will take one or two halfway through the day to help with all the hard-working he does, and why is it such a good thing he has them?" Judy asked still bewildered over the situation adding slight concern to his tone.

Kate was sitting in the chief beside them watching everything go down, and she began to feel intrusive and a little uncomfortable being there while they went over what Nick's was doing with pills.

"Hey ... uh ... guys, I think I'm going to just go for a quick walk or something while you two figure you know, this out," Kate suddenly said as she stood up. "Just figure it out," she added while she left the kitchen towards the hall where the front door was.

"Okay you have a fantastic time on your walk KHOP," Nick said with a cheery tone.

"Nick, don't try to avoid the question why are you taking these?" Judy again asked now with a little more frustration than before.

"I-I ... I'm taking them because ... I'm tired," he replied only giving half the reason.

"Nick, look at me there is clearly the reason you're tired ... oh ... oh god, you can't sleep," Judy said finally realizing what was going on.

"Ding ding ding and you win the number one prize an overly petrified Fox, who is exhausted from his fear of sleeping to the point where he steals fucking caffeine pills to stay awake, a fox who is too afraid to tell his wife that he fears his own thoughts!" Nick exclaimed with a voice filled with anger and brokenness

Judy stood up and hugged Nick; she said with a sympathy in her tone, "you can't keep taking those pills, I don't know who much you've taken, but too many of those and not enough sleep isn't a good idea."

"I need to Judy, I can't see you die again not again," Nick replied softly into Judy's ear.

"I know ... I know baby, but depriving yourself of sleep isn't the way to stop them you're only slowing the inevitable," she added with a calm, sympathetic voice.

"You don't get Judy ... t-the dreams ... t-they are the most terrifying things I've ever experienced in my life," he added with brittleness in his stuttering voice.

Judy just hugged him tighter, for it was the only thing she knew she could do.

Nick stood up breaking Judy's hold on him, and he said with a broken voice, "every time I sleep I see I-I feel the blood spill from your body and onto me." He then said with a much louder tone with his brittle voice becoming more prominent and tears beginning to fall from his face, "Judy I feel your last breath hit me like ice ... y-your head falls into my paw a-and it all feels so real, I can't help you, and it scares me Judy ... it terrifies me so much."

Nick fell to his knees as his tears soaked his face, Judy held him placing her one of her paws on the back of his head, and she softly rubbed his head and neck slowly going back and forth to try and comfort him in his broken state.

"I can't do this Judy ... I just can't," Nick cried out into Judy's ear with pain and fear in his voice.

"You will make it through this, we both will," she said sternly as she pulled her head away from the side if his. "Do you understand me?" She asks with her paws pressed against his checks.

Nick nodded his head while he sniffled, and he whimpered out with a quiet voice, "yes."

Judy went back into a hug with him, and she asked calmly, "can you stop taking the caffeine pills? For me please."

"Y-Yes I will," he replied with irregular breathing, having a stutter when he breathed in.

With all the yelling Nick was doing it wasn't a surprise that Judy's parents woke up and luckily it was early enough that none of their kids woke up, for they were either too tired or did not care enough to get out of bed. While Nick broke down, Judy's parents were watching in surprise. They were off to the side in between the kitchen and living room hiding behind a corner wall.

Bonnie looked to Stu and said with complete shock, "I had no idea they were having so many problems."

"Yesterday Nick told me about his nightmares, so ... I did," Stu replied calmly.

"Wait you knew?" She tried to whisper with a surprised voice.

"I only learned of it last night, okay, and I was going to tell you, and well I'm telling you now so ...," Stu replied quietly.

"Well, what do we do?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing, we can't help them more than what I've done, it's just not right for us to get involved in something like this," he answered calmly.

"What have you done to help?" She again asked.

"I told Nick of a therapist he could see in Zootopia, that's all I'm going to do unless he asks me for more help, I'm not going to do anything else," he replied slightly annoyed by the constant questions.

"Okay ... so, we just don't talk about this breakdown of his?" Bonnie said asking another question.

"Yes he's going through something far worse than anything I've ever experienced, but if Judy is the one he loses in his nightmares ... then, she's the only one who, can help him get through this and the therapist will show her how to help him," Stu calmly said with hope that he was right.

* * *

A few hours went by, and Nick managed to recover from his breakdown, or at least for the moment.

Instead of watching TV like they were planning, Nick and Judy went for a long walk, and they talked about anything besides the nightmares, and instead they reminisced about chief Bogo in Nick's effort to still help Judy with grief even though he was going through something he would consider far more painful. They came back from their walk, and to their surprise, no one was home, Judy figured that the whole family had gone to do so many things it would take too long to list them. She also thought they split up into groups and did their own tasks and things, which was typical for the Hopps family because if they all went to do something together, it could get crowded. Of course, Bunny Burrow was a countryside made for bunnies, but even then there was sometimes no room.

So now they sat on one of the many couches in the large living room, and Judy leaned against Nick who was beginning to fall asleep. It didn't take long, for he was exhausted and when he did fall asleep Nick began to dream, and he again saw his wife have her life ripped from her, he felt her heart stop beating, it never pushing the blood that gave her life again.

After ten minutes of sleeping, Nick jumped from the couch in a scare. He immediately grabbed Judy and hugged her for as long as he could.

"Shh ... it's okay Nick I'm here," she murmured into his ear.

"They need to stop," Nick demanded with a crack in his tone.

"Yes they do, and they will ... we will beat this," she replied with a reassuring voice.

They held each other for a few more minutes, and when they let go from one another, Nick left the room saying with a calm tone, "I need to pee."

Nick went to the bathroom and did what he intended on doing, but he lied to Judy. He wasn't going to stop taking the caffeine pills; he was too petrified of his unconscious self that he believed the only thing to do was stay awake.

Instead of putting the pills back like he said he would do, Nick hid half of them in a plastic bag that couldn't be spotted in his pocket. Nick took the small bag out of his front pocket, he took two pills from it and swallowed them. He put the rest back; he flushed the toilet and washed his paws, drying them before leaving the restroom.

Judy had been walking in a straight line up, and down the middle of the living room, she was thinking of what was going to happen. How was Nick going to make it through this and how were they going to both make it through losing the chief? She felt that life had turned against them, it had happened before to both of them at different points in their lives than when they first met. However, this time for Judy, it was far worse than anything she had been through, and she could say the same for Nick.

"Carrots ... we shouldn't just sit here and do nothing," Nick said with a happy voice when he walked back into the room.

Judy wasn't paying attention, so she jolted in a scarce when Nick spoke.

"Don't scare me like that," she demanded.

"Sorry Carrots I was just asking a question," he replied calmly.

She sighed calming herself and when she did Judy answered with a quiet tone, "what is there to do?"

"Well I'm sure there is something to do other than sitting around waiting to fall asleep," Nick replied with a joy in his voice.

"Um ... we could play a game," Judy suggested.

"Oh, what kind of game?" Nick asked with a peaked interest.

"Well there are plenty of games to play, we could play any board game you can think of, or we can play a video game," Judy answered happily.

"I think you know what I want to do," Nick said with a suggestive tone as he walked up to his wife and wrapped his arms around her.

Judy leaned into him and looked up; she replied with a joy filled tone, "I think I do, but ... we are not doing what you want."

"Is that so? Well ... I guess we won't play any of the zombie games your brothers own," Nick said with a chuckle and a grin.

"Aw, crap ... that's what I wanted to play," Judy said with fake disappointment.

Nick gave Judy a peck on the forehead and replied with his typical conning tone, "well ... we can if ... you let me be player one."

Nick released Judy, and he rushed to the TV stand under the TV on a shelf was the gaming console with controllers next to it, he grabbed one and turned it on. The controller turned the console on and became player one.

"Alright now that I have control we can play zombies," Nick happily said with a smile.

Judy grabbed the second controller and turned it on she sat down beside Nick on the couch facing the TV.

"Hurry up and get to the game already!" Judy exclaimed with an impatient voice.

"I am, I am ... jeez someone needs to take a chill pill," Nick replied as he opened the game which was downloaded to the console.

Nick started the game, and Judy joined; the two of them rarely played games, but when they were really board, they did. Judy wasn't the best at games, Nick, however, was unstoppable when it came to games especially gun games.

The two of them played for a few hours to pass the time, Judy's family eventually started to show up, and some of them started taking turns with the two of them until it was late enough for games to be considered too loud for Stu. So, Nick sadly ended the fun; he and Judy helped with dinner and putting the kits to bed and along came the end of another day.

Both Nick and Judy brushed their teeth and went to their room, Nick suit the door and the two got undressed down to their undergarments.

Judy plopped on the bed causing it to move all so subtly; she looked at Nick who, was standing at the side of the bed and she asked with a flat tone, "was today a good day?"

Nick sat down, then laid-back beside Judy, he looked into her purple filled eyes and replied calmly yet with uncertainty in his voice, "I ... I don't know sweetheart ... I really don't."

"Well, I think it turned out to be a pretty nice day ... wasted, but nice," Judy replied with a smile.

Nick smiled back and made a present hum right before he gave Judy a kiss. They both moved over slightly and pulled the blanket over themselves; Nick switched off the lamp on the small night table off causing darkness to fill the room. The two cuddled like they always did and the new routine that they had created fell into place. Judy fell asleep and once Nick began to lose control of his consciousness he reached to his pants and grabbed the bag of pills taking two from it putting the rest back and swallowing the ones in his paw.

* * *

"What am I going to do?" Nick asked himself staring into the mirror in the restroom. "Fuck why is she so goddamn right about this?" He added.

Nick looked at the little clock in the bathroom, and it read three forty-two AM. He sat down on the toilet and started to cry over everything over what has happened to him and his wife. He cried for ten or so minutes before wiping the tears from his eyes.

Soon another thought emerged, Nick knew that he was going to lose consciousness and no amount of stimulant was going to keep him awake. He had already lost a lot of blood from when he was shot, not sleeping didn't help heal his wound or replenish the blood in his body, soon that would catch up with him, and it had already begun. His vision would go blurry; he would sometimes see little things that weren't really there, his balance was affected too. It wouldn't be long before his speech was also affected.

Nick went back to his room he gave Judy who, was curled up in a ball under the blanket a quick kiss on the forehead and he left the room closing the door behind him making absolute no noise. He went into the kitchen redressed ready for the next day, and he sat down in one of the chairs.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and began to surf the internet to entertain himself when he ran into something he didn't expect to run into. An article about the murder of Thelonious and Janet Bogo.

The article read, "Zootopia's ZPD chief of police and his wife were killed on Thursday, August 15th, 2019 to be perfectly exact. The animal behind the killings committed suicide right after the crime had taken place. Two of the officers involved; who, will not be named for their personal sake; refused to take any interviews. However, a lion named Eric Short, who is replacing the chief did say that it was much more complicated then blackmail the perpetrator having a past with the ZPD having once worked there, Eric stated 'the wolf had been given information that led him to believe the chief framed him. That wasn't true I am launching an investigation into the capture of the animal who gave him this information.' Hopefully, the ones who, are involved in this horrible crime will be brought to justice."

Nick sighed and placed one of his paws on his forehead and the other on the table with his phone face down under it, he then said to himself quietly, "God dammit why did I have to run into this?"

Nick picked up the phone and continued to search for something to read or watch to take his mind off of everything. While he was scrolling through random posts on furbook, he ran into a post with a quote from an influential, respected leader from the nineteen thirties.

He read the quote to himself softly, "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. Franklin D. Roosevelt." Nick chuckled and said calmly, "I'm sorry D., but you're wrong because the only thing I have to fear more than fear is myself, for fear of my own unconscious thoughts are destroying my consciousness mind and I can't stop them from controlling me."

Nick clicked the sleep button on his phone and put his phone into his pocket. He got up and started walking slowly back and forth in the kitchen to keep himself awake. Hours passed, and he still sat there looking at his phone and getting back up to walk around all the way till morning.

Judy awoke, she turned to her side to see nothing but out of place bedding with light shining onto it from the window. She sat up and looked around to see Nick was already up and decided to let her sleep.

"Wonder what he is doing," Judy said curiously to herself.

She got up and out of bed, grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a clean shirt putting them both on before leaving the room to find Nick.

Judy walked into the kitchen to see Nick talking with Bonnie, and she happily said, "Hey good morning."

"Good morning beautiful," Nick replied with a smile.

"Good morning Judy how did you sleep?" Bonnie asked with a content tone.

"Oh fine I got more than usual though normally get up before six AM to work," Judy answered with a mostly flat voice having a hint of joy in her tone.

Bonnie looked at both of them and made the assumption that they needed to talk, so she happily said, "well that's good, but would you excuse me for just a moment."

Bonnie got up from her seat and walked out of the room.

Nick got up and said with a happy voice, "so, Carr-."

Nick's eyes rolled, and he lost his balance falling to the ground making a loud thump.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed in horror. She ran up to him and dropped to her knees; she called out with a fearful voice, "Mom!"

Bonnie immediately came rushing to her daughter's call, yelling, "what happened?"

"I don't know, but call nine one one!" Judy demanded.

* * *

 **Wow, I did not see that coming, wait ...**

 **anywho, I hope you liked the chapter please leave a review for me to read telling me about what you thought of the chapter.**

 **Until next time**


	7. Wait and Repeat

Chapter Seven: Wait and Repeat

Like all other emotions fear can control you, and if you let that happen, then you've already lost.

* * *

Life often flashes before our eyes when something terrible like death or sickness happens to our loved ones or us; Judy would agree, for when Nick fell, and he wouldn't respond to her, all that they had been through flashed before her.

"Mom please!" Judy begged, holding her unconscious husband in her arms.

Bonnie grabbed her phone from the counter, and she punched in the numbers 911.

The phone rang once before a 911 operator picked up and said calmly, "nine-one-one what is the emergency?"

"Yes my name is Bonnie Hopps my daughter's husband collapsed and isn't waking up, I need an ambulance right away," she replied calmly.

"Okay Miss Hopps, I'm going to need to know where you are," the male operator asked still very calm in the situation.

"We are at my home, it's in Bunny Burrow on Anglers Street, the house number is one, seven, three," Bonnie said answering the 911 operator on the other end of the line.

"Okay Miss Hopps the ambulance is on its way, please keep your son in law in a comfortable position and make sure he is still breathing at a steady pace," the operator ordered with a firm tone.

"Judy make she-" Bonnie exclaimed before getting cut off by Judy.

"I already did he's breathing, but barely," Judy replied with a fear in her voice, one that said Nick was going to die right then and there.

At this moment Judy finally realized how petrifying Nick's nightmares were, they could make him quiver in fear how much pain they caused him, she knew.

"Miss Hopps, please stay on the line until the ambulance arrives," the male 199 operators ordered with a stern, yet somehow still very calming voice.

"Okay," Bonnie replied without hesitation.

"Please, Nick ... don't. Don't leave me now," Judy whispered into Nick's good ear trying to hold back her tears of worry and fear.

"What happened?" Kate said running into the kitchen with her backpack on her back.

"Kate, get to school," Bonnie demanded.

"Mom what happened to Nick?" She asked again, but now with worry in her tone.

"He fell unconscious, Kate," Judy said answering her question with a brittle voice.

"Kate I'll tell you more when I know more, but get to school, all your brothers and sisters are already at school you're going to be late," Bonnie said with a softer tone while pushing Kate out of the room.

"I-I ... ugh fine, call me the moment you know more okay," Kate asked.

"I will, I promise," Bonnie replied calmly while backing away from Kate.

Kate went around to the front door by going through the living room, when she opened the door, she could hear the sirens from the ambulance. Kate put in her ear buds so she wouldn't hear them, for they would get loud by the time they got close to her.

"Judy," Bonnie suddenly said while bending down to be level with her eyes. "Nick will be okay, he's an unyielding, stubborn Fox, who has made it through worse and will make it through hardships much worse than this," Bonnie said quietly and calmly, with the hope that she was right to say he would be alright.

"I know Mom, believe me ... I ... know," Judy replied firmly.

A few minutes passed, and there was a knock on the door, and a voice exclaimed, "Miss Hopps, we are the EMT's, please open the door."

"Just come in," she yelled standing back up away from Nick and Judy.

She grabbed her phone and ended the call to 911.

"The operator said he was the husband, but that's a fox," the large deer said slightly confused.

"He is my husband, now get him to the hospital he's not responding to anything, and his breathing is starting to become erratic!" Judy demented straightening the situation.

The two EMTs looked at one another in surprise that a bunny was married to a fox, but after a few moments, then they ignored it and returned the situation. They put Nick onto a stretcher and put him in the back of the ambulance and Judy got in the back with one of the EMTs.

"Judy I'll get your father, we will meet you there okay," Bonnie said with slight worry in her tone.

"Okay," Judy said right before the EMT closed the door and the ambulance drove off.

"Miss, I need to check his pulse among other things, if you would move to the seat over there," the EMT asked calmly.

"O-Okay," Judy agreed to go to the chair in the corner closer to the driver side of the ambulance.

The deer checked Nick's pulse along with his breathing, his pupils, and his ear, but he couldn't get a good look, for he didn't take the bandages off.

"Miss," the deer said calmly.

"Oh ... it's Wilde and yes," Judy replied with a less distraught voice.

"Well, Mrs. Wilde, it seems your husband is going to be okay. However, we will need to hospitalize him and have his ear looked at, it might be the reason he has fallen unconscious," the EMT said calmly with assurance in his tone.

Soon the ambulance stopped, and Nick was taken to emergency care, then after only a few minutes, he was sent to a room on the seconded floor of the hospital. Nick was hooked up to a heart monitor a few other machines, and the nurse left. Five minutes went by, and the doctor came in.

"Hello Mrs. Wilde," the white Bengal tiger said calmly while looking at Judy who was in a trance just staring at Nick listening to the constant beeping of the heart monitor. "Mrs. Wilde," she said again, but slightly louder than before.

Judy broke the trance and immediately looked up at the tiger from her seat and said calmly, "oh ... hello, Doctor."

"Hi, my name Angela Williams, I'm to be the doctor who is handling your husband's case," the doctor said with a reassuring tone.

"Oh, okay," Judy said with a flat tone.

"Mrs. Wilde, I'm going to need some information about Nick, such as this injury on his ear, also if he has been taking any medication for the pain that it may have been causing?" The Doctor asked calmly.

"Uh ... h-he was shot," Judy said hesitantly her emotions beginning to resurface. "He lost an uh ... a lot amount of blood, then Nick didn't sleep at all until he fell unconscious. Nick was taking caffeine pills so that he wouldn't fall asleep," she said with a brittle voice that was moments away from breaking out into a cry.

Angela looked at Judy in confusion, asking herself; why would this fox fear sleep?

"Mrs. Wilde ... if it's okay with you might I ask ... I'd like to know why he wasn't sleeping?" She asked hesitantly not wanting to say or ask something that would put Judy over the edge, but at the same time needing to for Nick's life may depend on it.

"Is he dreaming?" Judy asked not even acknowledging the doctor's question.

"N-No ... we decided to put him on some sedative drugs so he would go into a deeper sleep, we felt that is was necessary seeing as he was in such an unstable state when he was brought in," the doctor answered calmly. Angela sat down in the seat beside Judy and looked down at her, she said to her with a softer more sympathetic tone, "Mrs. Wilde ... Judy, I need to know why he wasn't sleeping it could help with knowing what will happen next from this point on."

Judy looked up at the larger white furred tiger; she answered as her hold on her emotions broke; she cried out, "he was having nightmares ... h-he would walk up in the middle of the night p-petrified. Nick told me, t-that he watched me die while he was helpless, that he held me in his arms while I died. H-He was afraid that if he slept, it would happen again. I-I tried to tell him he needed to rest, b-but he didn't stop taking the pills he stole from my parents, a-and now ... I understand why he was so torn apart by these dreams of which he had no control."

Angela sat there utterly speechless; she didn't know how to respond to her answer; she didn't want to push on, but questions were of very importance, so she asked calmly, "Judy ... I need to know how long it's been since he slept?"

Judy sniffled, and she wiped her eyes of the tears within them, then she answered with a still broken filled voice, "uh .. about ninety-six hours."

The doctor stood up and replied with a subtle smile, "Thank you, Mrs. Wilde, as hard as that must have been for you, it helped me more fully understand what has happened to your husband. Well, I need to go, I have a few more patients to see."

Just as the doctor was leaving, Judy stood up and asked with a more crisp tone than before, "how long, how long will he be asleep?"

She turned around and replied quickly, "for the next few days at the least his body needs to rebuild his blood to function in a more regular fashion, mainly so his ear can start healing."

"Thank you, but I have one request can I stay here with him?" Judy asked.

"Of course, you're his immediate family, and he isn't in an emergency state. you are allowed to stay as long as you like," Angela answered happily.

The doctor closed the door with Judy in the room and went on to perform the rest of her duties. Judy jumped onto the bed where Nick was lying, and she lied down beside him, she closed her eyes and stopped trying to push back her emotions. Judy wept, and all her feelings came out.

Then, there was a knock on the door; Judy having quick reflexes quickly sat up and got off the bed, she again wiped tears from her eyes, and she went to open the door. She reached for the door handle which was slightly higher than her height, she opened it, and standing there were her parents.

"Mom, dad!" Judy exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey sweetie," Bonnie said with a sympathetic voice reaching out to hug Judy.

Judy embraced her mother's hug, then she broke it and hugged her father.

"Well what did they say, is Nick going to be alright?" Stu asked hoping it was good news.

"He's going to be sedated for the next few days; then we will see," Judy replied calmly, prominently forcing her cop like emotions above her feelings for Nick.

"Oh thank heavens he's going to be alright," Bonnie said in relief.

"Can we see him?" Stu asked still with sympathy.

"Of course," Judy answered moving out of the doorway and into the room where Nick was lying.

The two followed just into the chamber, and now they could hear the heart monitor's steady beat of which Stu found very unpleasant, but Judy found it calming, knowing that Nick's heart was still beating. As they got closer, they could see the air tube in his mouth, which was necessary for his breathing had slowed down because of his lacking energy. Thye could also hear the machine helping him breathe in and out; making calculations when it thought it was time to inhale or exhale. There was an IV tube in his arm, feeding him and hydrating him.

"Will he dream?" Stu asked already knowing about the nightmares.

"No, the Doctor said he wouldn't," Judy replied calmly.

"He will make it through this, in the three years I've known him, I've never seen him not make it through something, he will be alright," Stu said looking at Judy with reassurance.

"I hope you're right, dad," Judy replied with concern in her tone.

"Judy is everything alright?" Bonnie asked with sympathy, even though it was evident that nothing was okay.

Judy looked at her mom almost in shock as to why she could ask such a question, she replied with a loud angered, and distraught "Thelonious and Janet are dead. Nick is dreaming of me being brutally murdered and dying in his arms which have led him to be in a medically induced coma, so no mom nothing is okay!"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," she replied with an apologetic tone.

"No mom I'm sorry I-I overreacted," Judy apologized while giving her mom a hug.

"It's okay sweetie; I understand this past week has been horribly long and filled with horrible things. Things that I can't even begin to imagine going through, so if you need to let out some of that pent-up anger from this week, then please Judy, do so," Bonnie said with a stern almost order like tone.

"O-Okay," Judy replied breaking the hug the shared.

"Well there isn't much more we can do here, is there?" Stu pointed out. He stood up from the chief he had been sitting in, and he added calmly, "we should get going, it's already one o'clock."

"Uh ... yeah, you guys should go, don't want to be missing when everyone comes back from school," Judy said with slight hesitation, her being unaccustomed with telling her parents to do something.

"What about you?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh, I'm staying here," Judy replied quickly.

"Okay Judy, just call us when you want to be picked up," Bonnie cooed while she and Stu left the room pulling the door closed when they left.

Judy sighed then fell back landing in the seat behind her. She looked over at Nick and felt a sense of fear coming from him, and that scared her; as long as she knew Nick was never afraid, even at their wedding, or when he told her he loved her at one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. If he did get scared, Nick hid it so well that he would begin to believe he wasn't scared. This was the first time Judy saw Nick fear something.

"Why Nick?" She asked him even though he couldn't answer. "You know it is said that when in a coma medically induced or not, that the one in it can hear others speaking to them. So why?" She again asked standing back up and moving over to the bed where Nick lied. "Why is this happening to you, why do you fear these dreams so much as to do this to yourself?" She asked with a stern yet broken tone.

Of course, Nick didn't answer, and she knew he wouldn't, but she needed to ask the question without him getting scared again or answering the question of which she really didn't want. She just felt that asking would help her with getting through the next few days, or worse weeks.

Judy stayed in the hospital the whole day; she didn't want to leave Nick's side, so she asked to stay overnight. It wasn't something that the Doctors who worked there preferred happening, but Angela let Judy stay anyway. She curled up into a little ball on the bigger chair that sat in the corner of the hospital room, and she put a blanket over herself. It didn't take long before she fell asleep the stress that the day had brought her tired her out.

* * *

"Mrs. Wilde," Angela said calmly. "Mrs. Wilde," she said again, but louder than before.

Judy groaned, she slowly opened her eyes to see the giant white tiger standing over her with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Oh ... doctor Williams, I-I didn't realize ... uh, the time what is it?" Judy asked still in a slight daze seeing that she had just woken up.

Angela looked at her watch then replied with a floater tone, "quarter after nine."

Judy sat up and asked politely and curiously, "do you need to leave?"

"No I've already run the tests I need to, and you'll be happy to know that your husband is doing much better than yesterday, he now able to breathe on his own, so I removed the tube from his mouth," she replied happily.

"That's great, thank you," Judy said with a pleased tone.

"I'm only doing my job, Mrs. Wilde," Angela replied with a faint smile.

"Please call my Judy," Judy insisted.

"Okay, Judy," she said calmly and with content.

Judy jumped off the chair and stretched before she said with a calm voice, "you know I'm surprised you haven't asked a lot of questions about Nick and me."

"Well, what is there to know other than what everyone knows? Well mostly everyone. The two EMT's who came to your parent's house, keep talking about you two as if you two being together is wrong. Hell they barely know enough about you two, they don't even know you work for the ZPD," she answered with annoyance just thinking about how crude the EMT's were.

"Some animals, just can't see that we are not destined to only be with others from our own kind. That a fox can be lovers with a bunny, that a canine doesn't have to be with a canine, that a lagomorph doesn't have to be with a lagomorph," Judy said with a calmness that she almost forgot she could have with her life in such a broken state.

"Yeah," she replied unsure of how to respond.

"My life has taken a turn for the worst in the past week, and it's not one of those things that once it's over you can move on. This will consume a large part of my life for I don't know how long, and to know that there is someone other than my friends and family who, believe that Nick and I can be together is comforting. I know we were accepted by the public, but were the reasons for the acceptance the right ones, or was it out of fear of what others like Nick and me might think, what animals like him and I would do with the power we had?" Judy asked calmly, but with on certainty in the truth.

"Yeah ... listen, I don't know a lot about what happened in Zootopia, but I do know that you lost someone who, I'm sure you knew personally, and I wanted to say, sorry for your loss. And yes there are others out there who believe what you and Nick believe," Angela replied happily, but with sympathy.

"Thank you, Doctor Williams," Judy said with ease in her voice, for she knew Nick would be okay in the paws of this new friend of hers.

"No problem, Mrs. ... Judy, it is my job to help and save lives, that's all I was doing," Angela replied with a smile. "I will be back later to change the bandage on Nick's ear, its due for a new one," she added with a now professional tone one with little feeling in it.

"Okay, I'll speak to you then," Judy replied extending out and up her paw so that Angela could shake it.

She smiled down at her and shook it; then she left the room closing the door behind her.

Judy didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she should go to her parents home and get some food and changed or to stay with Nick. Of course, she wanted to stay by Nick's side the whole time he was in the hospital, but she still needed to eat, so she hopped up onto the bed and gave Nick a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you so much," she whispered into his good ear, and when she did his eyes moved beneath his eyelids, Judy noticed, and she smiled with joy knowing that he could hear her.

"She got off the bed and left the room closing the door behind her, she signed out and left. Judy stopped a cab, and it took her to her parent's house. She paid the driver, and he took off leaving her in the dust from the dirt covered road; Judy walked up to the house and went inside.

"Hello!" She shouted listening for a response. Not getting one she shouted again, "Mom dad! It's me, Judy!"

"Oh, Judy in here!" Stu exclaimed from the kitchen.

Judy walked towards the kitchen to see her father making waffles.

"A-Are those blueberry waffles?" She asked curiously hoping to have some.

"Why, yes they are, would you like some? I made them for you," Stu offered happily.

"Yes please," Judy answered with a content tone.

"Alright three blueberry waffles coming right up," Stu replied with a cheery smile.

He grabbed a spatula and placed it under the waffles he wanted to give Judy. Stu put them on a plate and covered them with syrup before grabbing a fork and putting on the plate with them. He passed them to Judy, who took them and sat down at the table immediately taking a bite out of one.

"You know this may be unhealthy ... but I don't care," Judy said while she chewed the food in her mouth.

"It was, and I guess still is the only time you eat something that isn't good for you," Stu replied with a smile while he sat down beside Judy with her own plate of waffles. While Judy ate her smile faded, Stu noticed, and he asked with a kind tone, "Judy, are you okay?"

She stopped eating and replied with a forced smile, "yeah I'm fine."

"No, you're not," he said calmly with truth in his eyes. He placed his paw on Judy's shoulder and said again, "you're not alright are you?"

"Dad stops it," she said with a confused look in her eyes as her father looked into her eyes trying to bring out the truth in her.

"You need to let it out, hiding your fear isn't the way, I know you feel that you need to keep up this fearless persona, but I know you, Judy ... I'm your father," he added with complete calmness and sincerity in his tone.

Judy looked away from him for nearly a minute when she finally turned back to him and said with a brittle tone, "I'm petrified, dad ... I-I don't know what to do anymore, I've lost control of my life, and that scares me, Thelonious getting killed, and most of all, Nick being in the hospital, it terrifies me."

"Listen, honey, we all lose control of our lives at some point, the best thing to do is talk to family about it, hope that everything is going to be okay, because all we can do, is wait," Stu happily said.

"I-I just don't know how to sit here and do nothing!" Judy exclaimed, standing up out of her seat, looking to where Nick fell and playing it over in her head.

"Then let me help you I won't if you don't want me to, but I will if you do," he said standing up and walked up to his daughter.

Judy turned around and hugged her dad before saying with tears falling from her face," please, help me."

"Okay," he replied hugging his daughter back. "We need to talk about everything, about what has happened in the past week," he added with a calm tone.

"Then let's discuss this," she said with a sniffle.

Stu broke the hug with Judy, and they sat back down in their seats, and they both finished their waffles before talking about everything Judy wished to discuss. They talked about how it all started with Nick having a terrible dream, then him getting shot, how it scared Judy more than anything had. Next, she told him about the whole kidnapping of Janet Bogo, how it enraged Thelonious and filled him to find his wife, how they had to help him because he wouldn't stop until he found his wife or died trying. Judy told him how they found the white-furred wolf, how much hatred was in him, that the white wolf felt he needed to do what he did because Thelonious deserved it even though Thelonious didn't do what he believed he did. She told him about every nightmare Nick had, how even though she didn't experience them herself, that they still scared her, that Nick being so distraught by them affected her emotionally.

They had talked for nearly two hours before Judy wished to return to the hospital to be with Nick. Stu offered to drive her, and she agreed. Her father took back to the into the central part of Bunny Borrow where the hospital was, and he dropped her off.

Judy signed in at reception and immediately went to the room with Nick in it. She opened the door to see the blinds were down and the room was dim, with the settings on the lights turned down. Judy closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair that she had slept in the night before. Judy sat there and watched Nick, her father said all she could do was wait and hope for something good to happen, but Judy felt she was doing something helpful by making sure Nick was okay while he laid there helpless.

While she was watching him, the door opened and came in doctor Angela Williams.

"Oh hello, Mrs. Wilde I didn't notice you had come back," Angela said with surprise. "I was going to change Nick's bandage and hour and a half ago, but I was called to an emergency, how long have you been back?" She asked curiously.

"Hello, yeah I've been here for about twenty minutes now," she replied calmly.

"Well I'm going to change his bandage now, so I understand if you don't want to see his gear in the condition it is in, then I suggest you leave the room for five minutes or so," Angela said with an understanding tone.

"It's okay I saw it happen and I've seen much worse, so go ahead," Judy replied lacking a worried voice, for she didn't have a problem with blood.

"Okay," the doctor said bringing the small rolling table with her to the side of the bed with Nick in it.

Angela began to unravel the bandaging that surrounded Nick's injury; she pulled it all away, and Nick's ear was completely visible and exposed to air for the first time in nearly a week. Judy looked at it; her husband's ear was stitched because part of it had been shot off and another part was hanging by a thread, so the EMT from the shooting tried to save as much of it as possible.

"Crap," Angela said under her breath.

Judy heard her say this and she asked with worry, "what's wrong?"

"Well you see this part here, it's been stitched on, I guess the EMT figured it could be saved, and he would have been right, but because Nick didn't get enough sleep his body never had time to heal and now this tissue is dead. I'm going to have to take this off him," Angela said with a bitter tone, for she hoped that he would have been able to keep more of his ear.

Angela opened a case that was on the trolley table, inside it was small medical tools. She grabbed a pair of tweezers and a small pair of scissors. Angela cut the knot and started to pull with the tweezers on the stitching making one loop after another come undone until the dead tissue fell into her gloved paw, she put it into a plastic bag and onto a tray that was on the trolley.

Judy took another look at Nick's ear; she could see how raw it was and now that the stitches had been removed there was blood coming from it. Small blood veins that went to the ear were reopened by the removal of the stitches, Angela quickly covered them with a few layers of gauze to contain the bleeding, then she covered it up with bandaging to keep it safe.

"If I didn't remove that dead tissue, it might have infected the surrounding tissue, and that would be a problem you don't want to deal with," the doctor said with relief while putting the tools she used in a cloth and put it beside the other medical instruments.

"Thank god it didn't come to that," Judy replied with a sigh of relief as well.

"Well I'm done here for now, so if you're staying tell reception, okay," she said while packing up here things.

"Okay," Judy replied calmly.

Angela pushed out the trolley, and she left the room closing the door behind her. Judy looked at Nick with his new bandaging, and she smiled with content knowing he was incapable paws.

Soon her smile faded, and she remembered everything, but for that brief moment, she had happiness again.

"I need you to be okay Nick," she said to him calmly yet with desperation.

* * *

"Soon Carrots ... soon," Nick said to her with a presence of calmness.

Judy turned around to see Nick standing in front of her looking down at her with a proud smile, one with no fear.

"Nick!" She exclaimed with joy throwing herself into his arms.

"Woah easy Carrots, I'm not a body pillow," Nick happily said while he hugged her back.

"You were in a medically induced coma; I was so scared, I didn't know if you were going to survive until they told me you would, even then I feared for you," Judy cried out with tears of joy.

Nick pulled away from Judy and said calmly while looking into her eyes, "I'm sorry ... Judy."

"For what?" She asked suddenly confused and scared.

Nick began to fade away; she reached for him to hug him again, but it was too late he turned to dust and was blown away.

"Nick!" She yelled with tears in her eyes. "I love you," she said calmly.

Then, she woke up to the beeping of the heart monitor and Nick in front of her still asleep not moving, not talking, and she realized it was all a dream. She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time to see it was six AM, she put it back in her pocket and got up from the chair she was sleeping on.

"It seemed so real," she said to herself while looking at Nick. She jumped up onto the bed, gave him a kiss and said calmly, "you seemed so real."

Judy jumped back off and left the hospital room, she signed out and went for a run to pass the time, for she desperately wanted Nick to wake up and all she could do was wait.

While she was running, the clouds began to cover the morning sun, and the wind picked up bringing down the temperature, but she kept on jogging. Soon the rain came. However it started out slowly, but became very dangerous; the rain fell fast and hard, hitting Judy like tiny pin needles. She knew she was close to her parent's house, so she picked up the pace and made it to the house in a matter of minutes.

Judy pushed open the door and closed it; she walked into the kitchen and there standing was Kate who missed the bus standing there not even thinking about walking to school. She made her way all the way into the room, and she could see both Bonnie and Stu standing there having a serious conversation.

"Hey, what's going on?" Judy asked curiously.

"Kate, do you care to tell Judy what it is we are talking about?" Stu asked sternly.

"Oh she already knows," she replied without hesitation.

"Wait, I do?" Judy said with bewilderment.

"Yeah we talked about it on Sunday," Kate replied with a loud tone.

"Oh! Yeah, Nick and I found out about it on Sunday, we told her to talk to you two, which I guess is what I'm running into right now," Judy said calmly.

"Well we have a lot to discuss with you and seeing as you missed the bus, and it's raining really hard out, and I don't have time to drive you, so you're not going to school," Stu said with a stern orderly tone.

"Uh I'm going to go and get changed, there isn't a point in me being part of this anyway," Judy added while she started to shiver from the water that covered her becoming cold.

She left the three to their discussion and went to the guest room where she and Nick were staying before he was in the hospital. Judy locked the door to the room and stripped herself of the wet clothes, then she grabbed a towel and began to dry herself. Fortunately, Judy wasn't wet enough to need a body dryer. Once she did dry herself, Judy grabbed dry clothes and put them on, she groomed her exposed fur and made it look clean and smooth.

Judy didn't want to wait for the rain to stop, she wanted to go back to the hospital and be with Nick, she wanted to be there as much as possible. So, she left the bedroom and went back into the kitchen to see that her parents weren't mad at Kate, but disappointed, she could see it in their eyes.

"Hey ... uh, may I cut in here? It's about this," Judy spoke out.

"Uh ... sure, go ahead," Stu replied calmly

"I know she broke the rule, and I know that is something that greatly disappoints you, but you need to understand that she is in love, and me most of all knows what that can make someone do. I killed to protect Nick; she broke a rule about dating because she loves the animal she's with. I know you feel she needs to be punished, but what will that do besides make her resentful towards you two, but believe me when I say, if she ends up breaking up with him, that will be more than enough punishment," Judy said calmly towards her parents and Kate.

"Okay Judy, we understand," Bonnie replied with a subtle smile knowing that she was right, the punishing someone for being in love is wrong despite the fact that she broke their rule about dating.

"Thank you, Judy," Kate said with content. "I hope Nick gets better," she added with a smile.

"Me too Kate ... me too, now excuse me I need to call a cab," Judy said calmly.

"Oh there is no need honey, you can take one of the trucks to the hospital, okay," Stu offered.

"Thanks, Dad," Judy replied happily.

Stu gave Judy a key to one of the pickup trucks he owned, and she took it from him, giving him a hug before she left the room. Judy opened and closed the door behind her quickly, and she ran towards the truck she had a key to, she hopped in and started it. Judy drove out of the driveway, onto the road and she made her way back to the hospital to be with Nick, the only thing she could think about was him.

Judy parked the truck and locked it when she got out; she ran inside to get away from the rain, and she signed in at the reception. She went straight to the room with Nick and stayed there watching him until the doctor came in.

"Hello Mrs. Wilde," Angela said with a smile as she walked into the room with a clipboard in her paws.

"Hello Doctor Williams," Judy replied calmly, but with no smile, for she refused to be happy until Nick was awake.

"I have good news; we will be waking your husband up, I just came here to take him off the sedatives, you'll be happy to know he will up and talking in about three hours maybe four," Angela said with content.

"Really?" Judy said with surprise. "That's great, thank you, Doctor Williams, Judy said with joy and a smile.

The doctor walked up to Nick and stopped the IV from sending the sedatives to his body, then she removed the IV from his arm and hung it up beside the bed.

"There we go, all done," Angela said with content while putting a small band-aid on Nick's wrist where the IV was. "I will come back in three hours or so when he starts to wake up just tell a nurse, and they will come and get me okay," she added calmly.

Judy nodded in agreement then; the doctor once again left Judy alone with Nick. She knew how much they meant to each other; she could see it in Judy's eyes; Angela wanted to make sure they were okay. Not just because it was her job to make sure others were well taken care of and got out of the hospital healthy, but because she cared if they did or not.

* * *

Judy waited and waited, three hours went by and still nothing, Nick didn't wake up, she knew it could take longer, but she didn't want to wait. Judy couldn't stand it, the repetitiveness of the whole situation, she would wait and nothing, then she would talk to the doctor she would check up on Nick, and the whole process started over. However, this time Nick would be awake, the cycle would break, and she wouldn't have to wait and repeat.

Judy watched Nick for any movement a subtle move of the paw or a shift in his position, but nothing.

She got out of her chair and jumped up onto the bed and said to him, "Wake up baby, I know you can."

Judy gave him a quick kiss on the lips, and when she did, his paw twitched. Judy's eyes widened and surprise and joy, she grabbed her shoulders and kissed him again, this time for a few seconds longer. She broke it and backed away from him in disappointment.

"I guess it's not like the fairy tales," Judy said to herself with a saddened tone.

"Judy!" Nick exclaimed flinging himself from the bed in confusion with only Judy on his mind.

"Nick! Nick, I'm here!" Judy said with a joy filled tone placing her paws on each side of his head holding it in place facing her. "Nick I'm here you're okay," she added with a smile and tears of happiness in her eyes.

"Judy," he said with a calmer tone, hugging her while she cried.

"Thank God you're okay," she happily said into his shoulder.

"Judy, how long was I in her for?" Nick asked with slight confusion in his tone.

"Nearly three days ... god, I was so worried about you Nick," Judy replied pulling away from him giving him a kiss.

As they were talking the doctor came in, for she was told by the nurse who heard Nick scream Judy's name.

"You're awake," Angela chirped while walking into the room.

"You must be the doctor who made sure I didn't die," Nick said with content as he straightened his back and sat up.

"Well yes I suppose that would be me," she replied with a subtle smile.

"Thank you, but I don't remember any of it even the few hours before I fell unconscious. What I can tell is I know it was bad because the look of Judy's face when I woke up just screamed it was bad," Nick said calmly looking at the doctor, then Judy with a smile, then back at Angela.

"Yes, I haven't seen someone in the hospital for sleep deprivation in years, so it was indeed bad," she replied. "Now I know you just woke up, and Mrs. Wilde I know you want to be with him, but I need to check a few things and ask a few questions, so I'm going to move," Angela said apologetically.

"Oh I understand," said Judy agreeing to go from the hospital bed.

Angela came closer to Nick, and she asked while she examined his ear, "Have you been experiencing any light headedness or headaches since you woke up?"

"Uh ... no, no I have not," he replied calmly.

"What about the pain in your ear?" She asked.

"Just a little, but that is to be expected right? I mean I did get shot a couple of days ago," Nick asked with a confident tone that he was correct.

"Nick it was a week ago," Judy added correcting him on his mistake.

"Oh yeah sorry ... a week ago, so there is still some pain," Nick said correcting himself.

The doctor finished her examination of his head, and she checked his heart rate to make sure it was regularly beating, which it was.

"You seem to be okay; now I know you just woke up from a medically induced coma. so, you are going to need to sleep tonight, keeping you from being in the hospital again we need to make sure your sleep schedule lines up with your work pattern," Angela insisted with a calm yet clean tone.

"O-Oh, okay," Nick replied becoming very agitated about sleeping.

"Nick," Judy spoke up. "It's okay, she knows, she needs to know why you lost consciousness, I'm sorry, but I had to tell her," Judy added calmly, but with sympathy.

Angela said with compassion, but also with importance, "Mr. Wilde, I know it's going to be hard, but-"

"Have you ever been in love, Doctor Williams?" Nick asked cutting her off.

"Uh ... once ... yes, I was in love once," Angela answered with confusion.

"Who was he?" He asked.

"He's a black panther, named Darcy Davis, why?" She replied still bewildered by Nick's questions.

"Did you ever have dreams of losing him, like the ones I'm having? Did you ever have dreams where Darcy would slowly lose his life while in your arms, and you could do nothing because there was nothing that could be done?" Nick asked calmly, but with complete sincerity.

"N-No I haven't," she replied.

"Then please don't tell me that it's going to be hard to sleep because you have no idea what lengths I went to, to not have these nightmares that have a tighter grip on me then the pain caused me when my parents died," Nick said with an order in his tone.

"I can't give you another sedative it would do more harm than good, I'm sorry Nick, but you will have to sleep tonight because I can't in good conscience let you destroy yourself from lacking sleep," she implored him.

"She's right Nick," Judy spoke up while she stood up from her chair. "You need to sleep, or you will end up in another hospital or worse. What if you lose consciousness in some place where no one will find you?" She asked with worry for him.

"Judy I-I'm sorry, but I can't watch you die again," Nick replied with hesitation and with a subtle amount of fear building up in his tone.

Judy jumped up onto the bed and looked Nick into his eyes and said calmly, but still with a begging tone, "Nick please listen, I'm not going to die, I'll be here the whole time, please just agree to sleep tonight."

Nick could see the worry in Judy's eyes; he knew that not sleeping was scaring Judy and that in his mind was worse than his dreams.

"O-Okay, I-I will, I promise you, Judy, I will," he replied fumbling his words, for he really meant what he said, Nick just couldn't watch Judy fear for him.

Judy gave him a kiss on the lips, then broke it when she went on to hug him while she said to him with a muffled voice because of Nick's fur, "Thank you, Nick. I promise I will be right next to you all night, and the next night and the next." Judy pulled away from him and added happily with tears in her eyes, " I love you so much."

Nick smiled at her and replied with a content tone, one where all fear and hesitation had left, "I love you too Carrots."

"Uh I don't mean to be rude and cut in, but I do need to say a few things," Angela said calmly. "First off, you're going to need to stay here for another day or so. Secondly, I need to do a few more tests on you to make sure that nothing about you physically has been affected by the loss of consciousness and the drugs I had you on," she said calmly, but also quickly.

"Oh, okay," Nick replied disappointedly, hating the fact that he had to stay in the hospital.

Just as Angela was going to reply, her pager went off, she pulled it out and checked it; then she said as she began to walk out of the room, "Uh I need to go, there's an emergency in ICU."

She left the room closing the door behind her it making a slamming noise which was unintentional.

"Nick," Judy whispered out.

"Y-Yeah Carrots," he replied with a subtle tone.

"I missed you so much; I even had a dream about you, you told me everything was going to be alright, that we would make it through all the bad that's happened to us. I believe that it is true," Judy said with joy and tears of happiness.

"Well I guess no matter where I am, I'm always right," he said with a grin. "Because!" He added as he sat up and took hold of Judy by her shoulders. "A fox knows best," he said with a smile looking into Judy's eyes with pure affection as he gave her a long and passionate kiss. He broke the kiss and said happily but subtly, "remember those? Now don't forget them, because I love you and remembering my kisses with you is more than enough."

Judy hugged him and said into his good ear with a soundless voice, "I love you too."

* * *

 **Hey hey hey, it's ...**

 **Hello there, so whatcha' think of the chapter, please leave a review telling me what you thought I love to read them, and I try to reply to them all either answering a question or just thanking your for your criticism or nice comments.**

 **Until next time**


	8. Temporay Distraction

Chapter Eight: Temporary Distraction

It is said that love hurts, but how can it? When in reality it is the evil, the hatred, the fear, that hurts, for when you fall in love, all of these things are out to destroy it.

* * *

Nick heard the echo of the cocking of a gun. He turned around and down the hallway of the hospital standing under a broken light was the white wolf which had killed Chief Bogo. However, he was no longer white, his fur was drenched in blood and laying on the ground beneath him was Judy.

She was filled with fear, and she screamed out, "Nick help me please!"

Judy tried to get away, but her leg was broken, and she couldn't escape the hatred of the white wolf. He pointed the gun down at her and pulled the trigger, BANG! The first bullet went through her chest and echoed throughout the hall, then he pulled it again, BANG! The second bullet ripped through her head. Everything went silent for Nick as his lover's life was taken in front of him

"You son of a bitch!" Nick yelled while running towards him.

He shot at Nick, BANG! A bullet hit his arm, but he kept on running, the wolf fired at him again and again, BANG BANG! Another in the same arm and one grazed his face from one side to the other. Nick jumped onto the wolf before he could shoot again and he broke his paw by crushing it beneath his foot. Nick grabbed the gun, but when he went to shoot it, there were no more bullets in the clip. So, Nick flipped the gun and held the barrel of it with his paw not caring that it burned him from the heat. He started bashing the gun over the head of the wolf that laid beneath his claws. Over and over he beat in his face until he could no longer see it and all that remained was raw ripped skin with broken skull beneath it.

Nick's eyes widened as he realized what he had done, he dropped the gun and looked at paws covered with more blood than his own. He wiped his face, then spit out his own blood that had fallen into his mouth from the huge scratch on his face.

He turned around and walked up to the lifeless body of his wife, he bent down and picked her up, and her blood spilled out from her head and chest onto him and the ground.

Nick began to coo to her even though she was gone, "What I have done in vengeance of you, is something I would do again in a heartbeat, but I tell you this. This is nothing compared to what I will do to protect you, to save you. No one will ever hurt you ... no one."

He jumped from his bed, and he fell off smashing into the ground making a loud thump. He was panting in confusion and fear of what he believed he just did, for what he thought happened.

"Nick," Judy said to him while jumping off the hospital bed and landing in front of him. "It's okay, I'm here," she added with a soft calming voice.

She hugged him and could feel the rapid trembling that he was going through. She could feel the sweat as it cooled down and caused him to uncontrollably shiver more than before.

"I-I ... d-did t-things that ... I lost you a-again," he stumbled out as he began to cry out of fear and confusion.

"Nick look at me, I'm right here," she said to him holding his face in place making eye contact with him, seeing them glimmer from the tears that were in them. "Oh god," she whispered pulling him into a hug. "You're okay now, it wasn't real," she said to him with a sympathetic voice.

"I-I know I promised you, b-but I can't Judy, I just can't," he cried out with a broken voice.

"We will find a way Nick, we always find a way," Judy said with hope, breaking away from him and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

Judy stood up and pulled Nick up with her and he now towered above her. Nick looked down at her and smiled, his lips still quivering like the rest of him.

"We do don't we?" He replied while trying to calm himself.

She smiled back and said happily, but still with a brittleness in her own voice, "yes, yes we do."

Judy looked up at the clock to see it was nearing five AM. She didn't see any point in going back to sleep, this was close to when they normally got up, so staying up was the best choice they could now make.

* * *

"Doc I think I'm good, you should just let me go," Nick said to Doctor Williams calmly.

Angela replied happily while taking off her gloves and putting medical tools away, "Well, in this case, I would have to agree with you, there doesn't seem to be any repercussions on your body from the drugs. The only thing that needs to be kept an eye on is your ear, it is still pretty raw, but it is getting better. I'll let the front desk know you can be discharged."'

"You here that Carrots, I can leave," Nick added with content pointing to himself while smiling happily.

"Well great, now we can go get our stuff from my parent's house, and they can see you alive and well," Judy replied happily.

"Hey Doc, thanks for this," Nick said to Angela as she was walking out.

She stopped and turned around in the doorway and said with content and satisfaction, "no problem, it's my passion."

She smiled, then left.

"Come on get some real clothes on, I mean I love seeing your ass, but I'm not so sure about everyone else," Judy happily said, standing up out of a chair.

"Don't be too sure about that, I went to the naturalists club plenty of times back when I was conning animals," Nick replied with a grin as he stood up from the hospital bed.

Nick walked over to a tall cabinet, and he opened it to see his clothes hanging up in it. He grabbed them and went into the bathroom in the back right corner of the hospital room. Nick took off the hospital gown, making him completely naked, for one of the nurses had also taken his underwear off. Nick grabbed the underwear from the pile of clothes he had placed on the closed seat of the toilet, then he pulled them up onto him. Next, he grabbed the pair of dark blue, jeans he had been wearing before he fell unconscious. The jeans were slim fitted not being too tight, but also not too baggy. He zipped the zipper, then grabbed his belt and strapped it on.

Before he finished getting dressed he walked up to the sink and looked into the mirror above it.

"I look like crap," he said to himself loathing his current appearance, his fur all over the place, not to mention he hadn't been groomed in days, so all the stray fur made him look even worse.

Nick splashed his face with cold water running from the tap, he dried his face with a towel and turned off the water. He grabbed the clean grooming brush that was in the bathroom and he groomed himself. Nick then grabbed his white V-neck T-shirt and slipped it on. He grabbed his short sleeve, blue dress shirt, he put it on top of his white shirt, he left this shirt open so the T-shirt under it could still be seen.

Now that he was dressed and groomed, Nick came out of the restroom, and he smiled at Judy who was patiently waiting for Nick to finish.

"You look great Nick," Judy happily said, giving Nick a long stare. "Now let's get out of here," she added calmly as she pulled on Nick's arm.

"Someone's in a hurry, I'd almost think you were here for decades," Nick said with a grin and a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Well I waited here ... while you were in here for what felt like decades," Judy replied with a cheery tone.

'Mhm," Nick murmured while he opened the door of the hospital that led them out to a hall which had dozens of animals walking through it.

The two walked up to reception and discharged Nick from the hospital allowing him to finally leave. Nick and Judy went to the elevator, and they went straight down to the ground floor. Judy led Nick to the exit and when they got out of the hospital the sun immediately beat down on them and the summer heat had returned making it look and feel as if it didn't rain the day before.

"I'm going to say it ... it's really sweet when you get to walk out of a hospital straight into a beautiful summer day," Nick exclaimed happily.

"Come on I have one of my dad's trucks here, he let me borrow it,' Judy said pointing to the old pickup parked in the lot for guests.

Cool can I-," Nick said before getting cut off.

"No you can not drive it, I'm not letting you drive anything for the next few days until that ear of yours heals," Judy said right after cutting Nick off from his sentence.

"Damn, and I was really looking forward to driving the truck your father drives every day, it would have been an honor to operate it," Nick replied with a faked disappointment.

"Aww is someone getting pouty," Judy said with a mocking tone, one that sounding as if she was talking to a baby.

"Well I wouldn't have to get pouty if you would let me drive the truck," Nick insisted while they walked up to the truck.

"It's not happening," she replied while unlocking the door to the pickup.

Judy got into the driver seat and turned on the truck, she reached over and rolled down the window on the passenger side, and Nick stood looking into the vehicle.

"Looks nice in the driver seat," Nick said while looking through the window of the passenger door

"Just get in," Judy demanded.

"Well if you insist I get in," Nick said calmly and with a grin as he opened the door and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Was that so hard?" Just asking with a smile.

"Oh you have no idea I-I almost couldn't do it," Nick replied forcing a stutter into his speech while he spoke as if he was genuinely tired out by the experience.

"Well then someone clearly needs to exercise more," Judy implied sarcastically.

"What are you talking about I work out with you all the time, and our job is enough exercise alone to make anyone fit," he replied with a shocked tone. "Just drive, I'm just taking this abuse from you," Nick said with faked anger.

Judy had rolled her eyes before they both laughed at each other's forced sarcasm. Judy turned the truck on, and it made a loud rumbling noise instead of a quiet hum. She pulled out of the lot and went straight onto the road, she figured there was no point wasting time, and they should go and pack up their things that they left at Judy's parents' home.

"Carrots what day is it?" Nick asked still being fuzzy on the correct time.

"It's the 22nd of August, why?" she replied calmly while paying attention to the road.

"Oh I'm still just a bit off with the date, that's all," Nick answered while he went to grabbed his phone, bit realized it wasn't in his pocket. "Uh ... carrots, where's my phone?" He asked worried he had lost it.

"Your phone is in our room back at my parents, mom put it in there," Judy said not giving Nick's worry a second thought.

"Oh, that was sweet of her," Nick said no longer worrying about his phone. "So, uh ... can I have your phone?" Nick asked hoping Judy would let him use her phone.

"Sure," she answered not really caring if Nick used it.

Judy took one paw off the steering wheel and shoved it into her pocket. She grabbed her phone from it, then gave it to Nick who, took it and started to use it.

"Why do you need to use it anyway?" Judy asked curiously as to why he so badly wanted to use a phone.

"Well when you're unconscious for three days you kind of miss out of things, so I'm going to catch up on anything relevant in the news or on furbook, you know," he replied calmly while he fiddled with Judy's phone.

"Okay you do that, and I'll just pretend you're not worried about missing furbook posts," Judy added with a subtle chuckle in her voice.

Nick chuckled back at Judy and went on to check furbook anyway. The entire drive back to the Hopps he was on the phone, which he put on the charger to make sure he wouldn't kill the battery so Judy couldn't get mad at him about it.

"Here you go Carrots," Nick said passing Judy her phone as she parked the truck.

Judy grabbed it and put it back into her pocket and replied happily, "thanks, now let's go get our stuff and say goodbye to my ... our parents."

"Aww, you called them our parents, how sweet of you," Nick said sarcastically, hiding the fact that he was happy to be considered part of the Hopps family, not just by Judy, but by everyone in it, all three-hundred-plus of them.

Nick and Judy both got out of the truck, Judy didn't lock it, for she felt no need to and because her father never did it either. They went up the steps of the porch and right through the front door of the home. Immediately after closing the door, Bonnie came running in overjoyed that Nick was awake.

"Oh my goodness, we were so worried about you Nicolas!" Bonnie exclaimed with joy that he was alright while giving him a big hug.

"O-Okay Mrs. Hopps you ... you can let go now," Nick said with a slight chuckle.

Bonnie complied and immediately broke the hug and straightened herself.

"Mom, where's dad?" Judy asked curiously, confused that Stu wasn't with her.

"Oh you know him, it's always about work work work, I guess that's where you get your desire for constant work, sweetie," Bonnie replied with subtle disappointment in her tone.

"It's okay just tell him we both said we love him, all right," Judy happily said.

"Oh, you're leaving?" She asked in slight surprise in her voice.

"Y-Yeah, uh ... tomorrow is the funeral for Thelonious and Janet," Judy replied with a subtle discontent in her tone, hidden behind faked calmness, for she just wanted to burst out and scream because of everything that's happened.

Nick could tell Judy was bottling up her emotions again, so he said with real calmness, "Carrots, I think we should get our stuff, we have a lot to do when we get home."

Judy turned to him and immediately replied calmly, but with subtle hesitation, "O-Okay ... w-we should get our stuff ready."

"Sorry Bonnie, but we have to," Nick said to her with a reassuring tone, knowing that she too could see that Judy was bottling everything up.

Nick took Judy's paw and gently intertwined his fingers with hers, and they began to walk away.

He pulled Judy closer to him while they walked and he said with a calm and very cool voice, "you're doing it again, bottling up the emotions, you can't remember."

Judy looked up at Nick with an almost distraught look, and she replied, "just until we get home okay."

Nick agreed to compromise and replied, "o-okay Judy, but we will talk about this, okay."

"Okay," she said in agreement with him.

Nick kissed Judy on the top of the head and said, "come on, let's get our things."

Nick opened the door to the bedroom, and he let go of Judy's paw, and he followed her into the room, closing the door behind him.

Judy walked over to the small night table beside the bed, and she grabbed Nick's phone from it taking the charger out of it.

"Here," she said calmly, extending her arm out with his phone in her paw.

"Thanks, Carrots," Nick replied with a smile, while he took the phone from her.

Nick put the phone in his pocket, then he started to place things of his and Judy's into their open suitcases that they had never closed since they got there.

"Well, I guess this won't take long if we didn't we take anything out," Nick pointed out while he dropped his dirty clothes into his suitcase.

Both of them continued to pack their things and when they finished they again said goodbye to Bonnie, but sadly Stu was still busy working. They called a cab, and it took them to the train station so they could go back to Zootopia.

* * *

After a couple hours went by and they got off the train and when they got off they decided to walk home for it was only a few kilometers away from their apartment.

While they were walking Judy said suddenly, "Nick, hon?"

"Y-yeah," he replied calmly looking down at her by his side. He didn't get an answer, so he asked again, "Carrots, what is it?"

"N-Nothing ... n-never mind," she replied looking straight ahead not marking eye contact with him.

Nick stopped walking and turned her to him and bent down to be eye to eye with her and he asked with a stern yet worried tone, "it isn't nothing Judy, so what is it?"

"N-Nothing," she again said trying not to make eye contact.

Nick finally realized what was wrong and he said calmly not longer as worried as before, "you don't want to go to the funeral."

Judy looked up at Nick and replied hesitantly, "N-No ... I-I don't want to go."

"Oh ... Judy," he said with sympathy while he pulled Judy into a hug.

"Nick I can't go, I-I can't see them in that state," Judy cried out onto Nick's shoulder.

"It's okay Judy, y-you don't have to go, I-I won't make you do anything you don't want to, all right," Nick replied with a caring voice one filled with empathy for his wife.

Judy continued to cry, and Nick knew exactly what to do. They were only a couple hundred meters away from home, so he picked her up with one arm and held the two suitcases in the other, and he walked with her in his arm with her resting on his shoulder all the way home.

"Nick w-what are you doing?" Judy asked confused why he was carrying him home.

"Trust me, all you need at this moment is a distraction, it will help you temporarily," Nick replied calmly while he pushed open the door to the apartment complex with his back.

"Nick, w-what is the destruction?" She asked confused and curious.

"I think you already know," he said with an almost flat tone, but with a slight grin of devious voice.

Nick grabbed his keys and stuck it into the door and unlocked it taking the key out, he pushed it open with his foot, and he kicked it closed behind him. He dropped the suitcases on the ground and walked through the dark rooms all the way to their bedroom, where the only light was coming in from the window. He bent down, put Judy on the bed and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Nick," she whispered to him calmly.

"Yeah Carrots," he replied with a smile on his face.

"I love you so much you know that?" She said with joy in her voice.

"Of course I do, I love you too," he replied giving Judy another kiss.

Judy smiled back at him and pulled him closer into another long and passionate kiss, before breaking it and panting for air. Nick stood up and removed his open dress shirt and his white T-shirt before he took off his belt removing his pants and underwear. Then, he helped Judy take off her clothes, and when he finished, Nick picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his side while he held tightly onto her and kissed her repeatedly.

Nick fell back onto the bed with her now on top of him her legs now beside him and not under him. Judy Leaned forward putting her head against his chest with one ear pressed against him, she listened to his heartbeat, and she felt better, the feelings of loss and fear all, but slipped away and she was happy there with him.

Nick pulled her closer to him, and he nibbled subtly on her ear and neck kissing her neck as well.

"Oh god Nick, don't stop," Judy begged which was unnecessary of her, but not unwanted.

Nick continued to kiss her, but with every few nibbles and kisses, he pulled her further up towards his face not caring about hurting his ear, making his way down to her most intimate regions. Eventually, his muzzle was completely immersed between her thighs, and he gave her immense pleasure which made her moan subtly at first, but louder as he went on. Judy lost control over her own voice and she screamed in overwhelming pleasure as she reached her climax when Judy did she fell forwards and Nick had to pulled her down so he could breathe.

Now Judy laid on top of Nick feeling fulfilled by him, but they weren't done yet. Nick gave Judy a few minutes before he sat up and held onto Judy as he flipped her onto her back.

"I'm ready Nick," she said with a pleasure filled voice.

Nick hovered over her until he picked her up in her arms and brought her to him their chests touching. He moved her down and their intimacy at that moment grew as their bodies connected in pure love. Nick pushed back and forth slowly getting faster making Judy get louder with every push inwards. Soon Nick began to lose control over his own voice and shortly after that he and Judy both reached their ultimate climax, and Nick pushed his entire knot into her, and Judy screamed in pleasure as Nick was inside her.

"Oh shit Judy!" Nick yelled as he fell forwards, but making sure he fell onto his back so he wouldn't crush his lover.

"N-Nick!" Judy exclaimed in complete satisfaction.

A few minutes went by, and Judy was still panting hard from being exhausted from what they just shared.

"Shh ... shh," Nick said calmly trying to help her calm down while he calmed down.

Five minutes went by, and Nick finally pulled his intimate part away from Judy's causing plenty of fluids to be expelled from Nick and Judy's privates.

"Should I get the mop?" Nick asked with a grin as Judy laid down on his muscled stomach and chest.

Judy smiled and chuckled at Nick's joke and replied with a weak voice, "no, just change the blanket ... again."

They both had laughed for a brief moment before Nick gave Judy another kiss on the forehead. Judy quickly began to fall asleep on Nick, she curled up into a ball, and her ears fell in front of her reaching her feet. Nick felt Judy was the cutest thing he had ever seen, but saying that only made her think less of herself. So, he called her beautiful or perfect or anything other than cute, truth be told he genuinely believed she was everything he said she was even cute, despite what it meant to her, to Nick it was a good thing.

"Has anyone ever told you that you mean everything to them, that you're the greatest thing to happen to them?" Nick asked with a calm, quiet, soothing tone, knowing she would say no even though the answer was yes.

"Um ... no," she replied with a very calm and now sleepy voice.

"Well you are to me Carrots," he said with a smile.

"Aww thanks, but can you let this amazing bunny sleep?" She chuckled out quietly.

"Sure," he replied giving her one last kiss before she fell asleep on him while he watched and slowly dozing off to sleep.

* * *

Nick woke up Judy still on his bare chest keeping his body heat keeping Judy warm while she slept without clothes or a blanket to warm them. He looked at the time on the alarm clock and he saw that two and a half hours had passed since he and Judy had been intimate. He quickly realized that he had slept for over two hours and no nightmares came to haunt him.

"Did ... did they stop?" He asked himself in his own thoughts. "No, they couldn't have stopped every time I've slept I have had a nightmare. What does this mean?" He thought to himself. "In fact, I don't even remember dreaming, I must have woken up before any memories from the dream could be recalled. That's it," he thought. "All I have to do is sleep in increments of a few hours, and I won't remember dreaming, all my problems are solved," he thought to himself, he wanted to wake Judy, to tell her the news, but he left her to sleep.

Nick gently took Judy off of him which was an easy task, because the only thing that woke up Judy was noise other than that, she would sleep like a rock. Nick put her under the blanket near the top of the bed placing her head on a pillow, then he quietly climbed off the bed, almost immediately after getting off the bed he felt something beneath his foot.

"What is that sticky shit on the ... oh crap it all over my fucking leg," he thought to himself almost forgetting about the mess he had made, that Judy had contributed towards.

He grabbed a towel from the hamper of clothes and wiped off his right leg, even though he dried it off his fur still felt sticky. So he went to the bathroom luckily not having to open any doors making it easier to not wake Judy and he wet a cloth and washed his leg until it no longer felt odd, then he dried off the water with another towel before going back to his bedroom to get redressed.

Once he did get all his clothes back on, Nick went into the living room and continued his thought on how to stop the nightmares.

"What if it doesn't and this was a one-time thing?" He asked himself. "Then I would need to find a way to make it work. Maybe I should explore other ideas, like talking to the therapist Stu told me about," he added. "No why talk to a shrink about my problems, what could that do to help me it never worked in the past why would it work now?" He asked himself while he walked up and down the whole living room trying to figure out what to do.

He thought about all the times he sought help when he was younger, how no matter how hard anyone tried no one could help him, until Judy, she was the only one that could help him deal with his messed up life, even if Judy didn't know she was helping, she did. However, that wouldn't work now she was what his dreamed were about.

"Maybe seeing a shrink will help me, I mean I've changed, right? Maybe it will work," he asked himself.

Nick decided to call the therapist Stu told him about, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked at the number he gave him back when they were at the farm. When he found it, Nick clicked on it, and his phone gave him the option of messaging the number or calling it. He clicked to call, and the phone immediately began to ring.

After three rings someone picked up the phone and said with a flat voice, "hello."

"H-Hello, i-is this Matthew White?" Nick said hesitantly.

"Yes, this is Doctor Matthew White, and to whom am I speaking with?" He replied with a little more pleasantly to his tone than before.

"Uh ... I'm Ni-Nick Wilde, Stu Hopps gave me this number said you could help me," Nick answered calmly.

"You wouldn't happen to be the same Nick Wilde who is married to Stu's daughter?" He asked him with a stern tone.

"Y-yes I am ... I'm married to Judy Wilde, yes," Nick replied while he went into the kitchen to make sure Judy wouldn't hear him and wake up.

"So, you called me, and you clearly sound nervous about talking to a therapist, perhaps you would do better face-to-face, animal on animal. I have some free time around four today, that's around forty minutes from now, meet at my office it's in the Meadowlands, on Vapour Road you have plenty of time to get here," Matthew said to him calmly with a comfortable feel to his voice.

"Okay, I'll be there shortly," Nick replied as he started to walk towards the door.

Matthew had spoken one last thing before he hung up the phone, "Oh and Nick, I'm not a shrink, and in the end, I'm not a therapist, that's just my job description."

Nick dropped his phone back into his front left the pocket and left the apartment closing the door slowly to not cause any noise. He headed straight for the subway station, Nick and Judy lived in downtown, so he had to take two different subway trains to get to the Meadowlands. Once he got to his stop, he got off and walked until he came up to a building with the name Oakwood Centre. On the sign under the name it had almost a dozen different types of therapy, from counseling to interpersonal therapy and behavioral activation.

Nick walked into the building and went to the front desk; he saw a female rabbit sitting at it, he said with a polite tone, "Hello I'm here to see Doctor White, he's expecting me."

"Okay, give me a sec," the bunny replied before grabbing the phone and punching in a few numbers. "Uh yes Doctor White, there is a fox here who says you're expecting him," she said into the Phone pleasantly.

Nick smiled and waited patiently, then the bunny told him to go to the top floor and head into room six zero four. He made his way to the elevator and went inside, he clicked the button that would take him to the sixth floor. The doors closed, and the elevator jolted, then started moving upwards. The steady hum of the moving elevator seemed to drown out the crappy music being played, and Nick was annoyed by it but was quickly relieved when the doors opened, and he could get out. He came up to the door of the numbers six zero four, he knocked on it and waited for a response.

"Come in!" a male voice yelled through the door.

Nick opened the door and saw an otter sitting at a desk in front of a window; he saw Matthew on his computer.

"Uh ...doctor White?" Nick said to the otter hoping that it was him.

"That would be me," he replied as he turned off his computer and got our of his chair.

Matthew walked up to Nick and extended his paw to him; Nick shook his paw then quickly let go of it.

"I don't look as intimidating as I sound over the phone, so I try to have first meetings face-to-face," Matthew said while he took a seat in a chair. "Have a seat," he offered.

Nick took the chair across from the Otter, and he said calmly, "I think I need help."

"Yes, well sadly most of the animals I meet are in need of help, so please lay it on me, what do you need help with?" He asked with a start, yet calm voice.

"I ...," Nick said stopping himself from finishing his sentence for he didn't want anyone else to know about the nightmares especially a therapist he had never met.

"It's okay take you time, you're my last appointment for the day anyway," Nick said calmly with a smile.

"I have dreams ... n-nightmares ... I lose Judy in them, n-no matter how hard I try ... s-she dies," Nick stuttered out painfully.

"Nick, how long had you been having these dreams?" Matthew asked still completely calm.

"A-About nine days," he answered still feeling hesitant in talking with the otter.

"Did you ever try and keep yourself from sleeping?" He asked sounding curious, but expecting Nick had tried to stop himself from sleeping.

"I-I did, yes, I fell unconscious and was admitted to a hospital for three days until they woke me up from the medically induced coma they had put me in," Nick replied becoming even less worried about speaking with White.

"Normally it takes about a week or two for someone to lose consciousness, but I'm assuming that your ear affected the outcome significantly. What was it that happened?" He asked this time with wonder in his voice.

"I was shot lost most of my left ear," Nick answered without hesitation this time.

"Did it hurt?" Matthew asked even though he knew the answer.

"Yeah it fucking hurt, still hurts!" Nick exclaimed.

"I bet it did," he added with a louder tone. "Nick listen, I don't have any of the legal papers here that are necessary for me to help you, so I can't help, right now. I have a free spot on Monday at four PM, if you come back then, I'll have the legal documents for you to sign okay," he said suddenly changing the subject entirely.

"O-Oh ... okay, so are we done here?" Nick asked suddenly, a bit confused why he changed the subject so quickly.

"For now, just come back Monday," he again said while he stood up to shake Nick's paw.

Nick got up and shook his paw before saying calmly, "Thank you, I really hope you can help me."

"I hope so too, now would you excuse me I need to get my things so that I can leave," Matthew happily said.

"Oh no problem," Nick said quickly as he went to the door leaving the doctor closing the door behind himself.

Doctor White pulled out his phone and clicked the call button; the phone rang four times before it got picked up.

White spoke into the phone "Hey it's White. Yeah, Nick came. What does he have? Well I don't know yet I have to actually speak to him about the nightmares; but if you want to know what I think is one of his problems, PTSD. ... Yeah, he definitely has some kind of PDST ... what? No not the military type, at least not yet, he is a cop, and that could make it worse. ... Well when I asked him if it hurt to get shot in the ear, he basically snapped at me. ... No, it wasn't like that he just threw out the F-bomb really loudly. Listen his current state is difficult to understand I only barely spoke to him, I'll know more on Monday when he comes back in for a real appointment. ... No, if anything being with her all the time at work is probably helping stop the nightmares, I mean just imagine what it would be like for them if they went to work and worked different cases and had partners besides each other, the nightmares would literally tear him apart. ... Listen I know you're worried, him being your son-in-law and stuff, but I need to let you go, my own kids are going to need to be picked up soon. ... Yeah, I would tell you more, but once he signs the legal document I can't say anything to you. ... I'm sorry, you will just have to trust me. ... okay, take care Stu, bye."

Matthew hung up the phone and got ready to leave.

Nick waited for the elevator, and as it came up, he thought to himself, "maybe life is going to get better."

* * *

 **I love the internet ...**

 **Hello there, I really hope you liked the chapter, you know what instead of my hoping you liked it, why don't you tell me what you think of it by dropping me a review to read. I love every one of them.**

 **Until next time**


	9. Not At Fault

Chapter Nine: Not At Fault

Everything dies, it is the inevitable, but when someone gets taken from us before their time, it breaks us, it hurts far more than if they were to have lived a long life. However, some are taken from us before their time and dealing with the pain can change who we are in horrible ways if we let it.

* * *

Nick waited for the train, and after ten minutes of waiting for the last train, he needed to get on showed up. He got on the train while checking the time on his phone to see it was five thirty PM.

"Crap I have to get back before Judy wakes up," he said to himself while taking his seat on the train.

"Wife not allowed to know you're not at home?" A make voice asked.

Nick looked up and to his surprise sitting across from him a few seats down was the lion he only knew by James.

"James Hey bud, don't worry it isn't anything bad, Judy would just get worried for me after all we have been through the past week," Nick replied happily.

"I understand, I heard about the chief of police. I mean everyone heard about it, I just want to say I'm sorry for your loss," the caring lion replied with a sympathetic voice and smile.

"Thanks, James," Nick said with a kind smile.

The lion's smile faded when he looked down, but it quickly came back stronger when he asked happily, "so when are you and Judy going to be back on the train to work? I've been getting lonely without you two to talk to?"

"Soon James, we just have things to take care of, you know?" Nick replied calmly.

"I understand, I don't know how to react to losing a friend, or worse my wife. I think I would lose it," the lion said with a sympathetic tone.

Nick spoke up and answered calmly, yet with a slight brittleness to his voice, "It's hard to deal with, and you never get used to it, you never go numb."

James noticed Nick was trying to hide his real emotions, which he wasn't letting anyone see that it got to him, so he offered happily, "Nick I know I can't empathize with you and Judy. If you ever want to talk, we can, you still have my number so just hit me up."

"Thanks, James, much appreciated," Nick replied happily.

Nick and James talked some more, but after five minutes the train came to a stop, and Nick had to get off, for it was his stop. He said his goodbye and got off the train, he walked the rest of the way home and hoped that Judy was still asleep.

He opened the door slowly and shanked his way back into his home. Nick made his way to their bedroom and to his relief Judy was still sleeping.

"Thank God," he thought to himself.

Nick walked up to her still curled up under the blanket, with head on the pillow, and her ears still covering the front of her. He smiled in joy knowing he had the greatest animal in the whole world by his side every day and night.

"I'm sorry Carrots, but it's time to wake up from your nap," he whispered faintly. Nick bent down and gave Judy a kiss on the head; then he happily said loud enough to wake her, but quiet enough as to not be annoying, "Carrots. It's me your favorite fox in the whole wide world. Time to wake up from your nap."

Judy moved slight her ears no longer covering her face; she began to stretch as she made a subtle groaning noise just before she opened her eyes and smiled at Nick.

"Hey, beautiful," Nick said with content and a smile.

"Hey gorgeous," she replied as she rubbed her eyes before sitting up and looking at Nick with tired eyes.

"You hungry Carrots, I could make you some steamed carrots," Nick offered with a grin on his face.

Judy smiled and replied with a little, tired tone, "sure, but you have to carry me there."

"Are you just not going to get dressed?" Nick asked.

"I'm too tired to be putting clothes on, so carry me, you've already done it once today what is another matter?" Judy replied happily.

"Fair enough, but I can't say I'm complaining," he agreed with a grin.

Judy threw her arms out to him almost like a little child would, he picked her up and when he did, Judy kissed him before clinging onto his sides with her legs. Nick healed her tightly and walked with her in his arm all the way to the kitchen where he set her down in a chair before giving her another kiss.

Nick opened the fridge and grabbed a bag of fresh carrots, he placed them on the counter, taking eight of them out of the bag. He grabbed a cutting board, a knife, and a peeler for the carrots.

"You want them steamed right?" Nick asked Judy while he began to peel the carrots.

"Please," she replied happily while watching Nick, while she curled up on the chair she was on.

Nick smiled back at her, then looked back at what he was he finished peeling the carrots, Nick threw out the skins and placed the skinless vegetables on the cutting board. He cut them up fast, and he put them into a bowl.

"Hope you don't mind, but I'm not waiting for water to boil, so microwaved is what we get," Nick said happily and impatiently.

"That's fine, I'm not waiting either," Judy replied calmly and with a smile, for she understood Nick hating to wait for food to be ready.

Nick placed the large bowl of carrots into the microwave and put a lid over the bowl to keep the steam in when it heated up. He set the timer for four minutes and when it finished, Nick took it out and placed the big bowl on the table in front of Judy. He grabbed two forks, then sat down beside Judy giving her one of them.

"There dig in," Nick said after taking the lid off the bowl.

"Nick, where did you go today?" Judy asked calmly before sticking her fork into a few cut up carrots.

'When did I wake you up?" Nick asked hiding how surprised he was that she knew he left.

"When you moved me and put me under the blanket," she answered while she chewed her food.

"Oh," he mumbled out.

"So where did you go?" Judy asked again, this time with a little more clear voice her mouth not being full of food.

"To see the shrink your dad told me about," he replied with a low tone.

"Well ... what did he say?" Judy asked not worrying about Nick wanting to keep it a secret from her, for she understood why he wanted to.

"H-he uh ... told me to come back on Monday same time as today and it will be a real lesson," Nick replied hesitating to answer her.

"Do you want me to come with you on Monday?" She offered, knowing Nick had trouble discussing his nightmares.

"N-No I think I'll be okay," he said with a faint smile. "Now come one hurry up and eat your food, don't want it to get cold now do we," he said happily suddenly changing the subject.

"Mhm," she mumbled while she ate more food.

The two of them talked Nick trying to avoid any negative conversations, waiting to talk about them after the funeral. They finished their food and Nick put the dirty dishes in the sink; he carried Judy back to their bedroom, but he set her down on her feet on the floor.

"We need to change the blanket," he said remembering the mess he and Judy made wasn't cleaned up.

"Oh yeah," Judy added.

They looked at each other, and for some reason they laughed, neither of them, could figure out what was so funny, but it was.

Nick pulled the blanket off the bed and rolled it up into a ball in his paws; he walked over to the closet in their room, and he dropped the blanket into a laundry basket. Nick grabbed one of the clean sheets that were on the top shelf of the closet, he unfolded it and spread it across the whole bed.

"There, good enough for me," Nick said falling back onto the bed.

"No, it's not," Judy added annoyed by the lacking perfection of the bed.

"Why not?" Nick asked confused as to why it even matter at this point.

"It just does okay," she replied with an annoyed voice. "Get off," she ordered.

"Fine," Nick agreed sitting up and to get off the bed.

Judy began to straighten it flattening it and shoving the end and back corners of the blanket under the mattress.

"There," she said with content once she finished.

"You know we are just going to go under the blanket in a couple of hours right?" Nick pointed out, for she saw no reason in what she did.

"Well get over it," Judy ordered firmly.

"Already am," he replied with a grin right before he kissed Judy on the head.

Now that they had finished eating and changed their blanket, Nick and Judy didn't know what to do with themselves. They wanted to do something, but they had gotten used to always working and havering a lot less free time, so everything they normally did together wasn't enough.

"What do we do now?" Judy asked hoping Nick would have an answer.

Nick smiled at Judy, he walked up to her and brought her close to him, gripping her back pulling her to him.

"Well for starters you could get some clothes on," Nick replied with a quiet voice and a grin on his face.

"Are we going somewhere?" She asked calmly, yet with peeked interest.

"Yes, we are," he added with a more lively tone.

Judy pulled away from him and bent down grabbing her panties from the ground while she asked, "where?"

"Hmm, nowhere particular," he answered while sitting down on the bed behind him while watching his wife put her clothes on.

"Oh a mystery," she replied while pulling up her pants.

"Not really, I thought we would just go for a walk," Nick said calmly.

"Oh, I love a good stroll," Judy replied ecstatically, as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"You might want to grab a sweater, the wind is picking up out there," Nick suggested, standing up walking towards the door to their bedroom.

"Okay," she replied while following him out the room.

Both of them made their way to the front door where there was a coat rack with a couple sweaters and coats hanging from it. Judy grabbed her purple zip-up sweater, putting it on herself leaving it open; Nick grabbed his black zip-up sweater, he put it on and zipped it up. He opened the door and let Judy leave first, he followed suit closing and locking the door before they left.

Nick and Judy left the apartment building, while they walked for what seemed like forever they talked about anything they could think of that didn't have anything to do with Nick's nightmares and the funeral for the Bogo's.

"I spy with my little eye something red," Nick said with a cheery voice.

Judy scanned the area looking for what Nick meant when she saw a camel with a red shirt walking across the street.

"The camel over there," she said only glancing at the animal while she spoke.

"Damn, okay you're clearly too good at this game, so we need to find something else to play so that I can win," Nick said with a chuckle.

"I don't really feel like playing anything else, in fact, this is getting kind of repetitive. So let's just talk," Judy suggested while grabbing Nick's paw, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Judy," Nick said with a flatter, calmer tone.

"Yeah?" she answered curiously while looking up into Nick's eye, while he looked into hers.

"I love this, I love just walking enjoying each other's company, I loving doing it with you, why are we only now doing this?" Nick asked with a joy filled voice.

"I don't know, but we should do it more often," Judy replied happily.

They soon made their way home, and after a few hours of TV, they got ready for bed. Nick came up with a plan on how to sleep, he would wake up every few hours so he couldn't remember dreaming or even dream at all, the only problem was doing it without Judy finding out. He didn't want to tell her because he didn't want to get her hopes up about his nightmares.

"Judy I-I think tonight I should sleep on the couch," Nick suggested with hesitation.

"Nick, why should you sleep on the sofa?" She asked with worry that he was planning on staying up all night.

"I don't want to wake you up because trust me I'm going to have a nightmare, and when I do, at least you don't get woken up by me," Nick replied calmly.

"What if it's one of the more severe ones, you're going to be wanting me to be there," Judy added with worry for her husband.

"Then I'll come to you, I'm just going to be in the living room," he insisted.

Judy moved closer to him, she looked into his eyes and said with a concerned voice, "Nick I'll be all right; you need to sleep. I know you're scared of your dreams, but that is why I will be here to calm you when you wake up, just sleep in here."

"I-I have a plan to stop the dreams," Nick said admitting why he wanted to sleep in the living room. "I was going to set the alarm for a few hours and have it wake me up to stop me from remembering my dreams, if not stopping them all together," he added with disappointment in himself or not telling Judy.

"H-How did you come up with this?" She asked with peeked interest.

"I came up with it this afternoon after we came home and after we had done it I fell asleep, I woke up a couple of hours later, and I didn't have a dream or at least didn't remember it," Nick replied happily knowing his could potentially stop the nightmares.

"Why didn't you want me to know about this? You know I would support your decision," Judy questioned.

"I know, and I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to worry," Nick replied with a calm tone, but with self-disappointment.

Judy hugged Nick, then she reached up to his head and pulled it down so she could kiss him.

"Then let's do it, let's stop these nightmares once and for all," she happily said and with encouragement in her tone.

"Thank you," Nick added kissing her back.

The hugged and held each other for a few minutes before getting undressed. Nick placed his phone on the night table after setting the alarm for two and a half hours later; he would also wait around ten minutes before going back to sleep.

Nick got into bed beside Judy tried to fall asleep, and after twenty minutes he did, Judy fell asleep after him, for she had slept for four hours earlier that day.

* * *

"Judy run!" Nick exclaimed in terror.

They both began to run as fast as their feet would allow, the huge rhino that was chasing them down had already killed six other animals, and they were next.

Eventually, the massive beast overtook them, he grabbed Judy and threw her over thirty feet right into a wall.

"Judy!" Nick screamed in absolute fear and anger.

The rhino had already taken eight bullets without flinching, so Nick grabbed his gun and the one that dropped off of Judy when she was thrown. He aimed for the head and shot every bullet out of both guns while yelling in anger. Nick shot sixteen bullets into him, most of them hitting the rhino's chest, but the last one got him in the eye, it ripped through his skull splattering blood all over the road, the rhino fell causing the ground to shake under Nick's feet.

"Judy," Nick exclaimed in fear, he ran towards her seeing her on the ground.

Her arm was broken, crushed by the force of hitting the wall, her legs were both crushed, for they hit the wall first. Judy had a huge gash going down the side of her head, and it was gushing out blood.

"Judy n-no stay with me, I'll get help," Nick cried out in fear for her life.

Nick went running off to get help, but he felt his arm being touched, Judy had grabbed him with her good arm, she coughed, and blood came out of her mouth splattering onto herself and Nick's paw.

"S-S-Stay, I-I'm not g-going to make it," Judy blurted out in agonizing pain.

Nick knew she was going to die, but he didn't want to believe it for a second.

"I promise I'll stay," he said with so much despair in his eyes he began to have tears fall from them. Nick dropped to his knees and said with tears covering his face, "I love you so much, so so much!

"I-I ...," Judy coughed, and her last breath was released with blood spilling over her lips and into her and the ground.

Her heart stopped, giving its last beat and the remaining life faded away into nothingness, her grip on Nick's paw slowly weakened until she had no grip left and her paw slipped out of Nick's.

"J-Ju-," Nick said with a soft, yet broken tone as he started to weep with endless tears falling from his face.

He picked up her lifeless body and held her, rocking back and forth, sobbing continuously, he cried so hard that he couldn't breathe.

Next thing Nick knew he woke up jumping out of bed, his body trembling, his face showed his dismay, and his body covered in so much sweat, it looked as if he had jumped into a lake.

Judy woke up in a daze, baffled by the sudden noise and movement, but she quickly came to realize what had happened.

Nick had fallen onto the floor; he curled up on the ground as he trembled in fear and confusion.

"Judy ...," he cried out. "J-Judy, I-I ... I'm scared," he trembled out.

Judy jumped from the bed and fell to her knees in front of Nick Nick who was filled with fear. Judy gently placed her paws on both sides of his face; she subtly wiped tears from his face while looking at him with great sympathy.

"Shh ... it's going to be okay," Judy said calmly.

She put her paws under his arms and helped hi sit up, as he did Judy felt something that was wet and sticky. She moved her paw into the light shining in from the window and saw her paw was covered in blood.

"Oh god," she whispered in shock. Judy spoke calmly while trying to keep Nick calm, "Nick look at me, Nick I need you to get up."

He nodded in agreement, and he stood up with Judy, who then led him out of their room into the kitchen leaving a trail of blood behind them. Judy turned on the lights had Nick sit down on a chair and had him hold a cloth on his bleeding ear while she got the First Aid kit.

"No don't go, please don't leave me," Nick begged while gripping Judy's paw.

Judy looked Nick in the eyes and replied calmly, "honey I'm not going anywhere, II just need to get the First Aid kit okay, I'll only be a few seconds.

"O-Okay ...," Nick replied still sounding and looking disoriented and petrified while he continued to tremble.

Judy quickly ran to the front entrance and grabbed the First Aid kit, she brought it back and placed it on the table opening it and grabbing the gauze from it.

"Judy I-I'm sorry," Nick said with a brittle tone.

"Nick there is nothing you need to be sorry about, you have done nothing wrong and don't you dare start blaming yourself," Judy implored looking him in the eyes while having sympathy for him.

Judy began to unravel the bandaging around Nick's ear until it came off and it was exposed. Nick groaned in pain as the end of the bandage fell off.

"You must have hit your ear off the ground when you fell out of bed," she said calmly trying to keep Nick talking to help him think about anything else other than his nightmares.

Judy got up and went over the cabinet that had all the clots, one of which she grabbed and wet with warm water and another one that was dry. She started to clean the blood away from Nick's ear and face until she could clearly see the part of his ear that he still had. Judy found where the blood was coming from on his ear, so she cut a piece of gauze from the roll, she folded it into a square which she lightly pressed against the open part of the wound.

After five or so minutes, Judy managed to stop the bleeding, then she cut more gauze and thick bandage from the rolls that she then wrapped around the exposed wound. Once she finished Judy washed her paws and put the First Aid kit away making sure all the tools that came with it were there.

"Thank you Carrots," Nick said with a subtle smile, no longer being confused and petrified as he was ten minutes earlier.

Judy sat down beside Nick, and she said with a worried voice, "Nick I don't know about this plan of yours, I don't want you to keep waking up multiple times in the night completely scared and unsure of what is reality and what's not."

"Judy I just need to adjust how long I'm asleep," Nick insisted.

"No you don't get it, Nick, no one can control when they begin to dream, this isn't going to work, I-I'm sorry I thought this would work, but it's not going to," she replied with disappointment.

Nick looked at Judy shocked, but he knew she was right, he just wished she wasn't.

Placed his paw on Judy's shoulder and rubbed it light while he said calmly, "don't be sorry Judy, this is all on me, and you're right this isn't going to work, but there has to be something I can do."

"I don't know Nick, but we will find something okay," Judy replied pulling Nick into a hug.

Nick hugged Judy back holding her as long as he could. Nick believed Judy would help him find a way to stop the dreams, he trusted her with his life he knows she will save him.

After ten minutes Nick and Judy went back to their room, Nick turned off the alarm which would have gone off in another five minutes. He turned off the other ones knowing they weren't going to work. Nick didn't want to go back to sleep. All he wanted was to be with Judy, he wanted to hold her in his arms until the morning came. That is what Judy let Nick do, she let him hold her she didn't mind, he was her husband after all, and giving each other comfort when it was needed was part of being married.

As the sun slowly rose Nick and Judy sat in bed with both their paws intertwined, Judy sat in Nick's lap keeping herself close to him for warmth and for Nick to feel she was safe.

"We need to get something to eat, we have to go to the funeral today," Nick said softly, but with sincerity in his tone.

"Yeah ...," Judy replied not wanting to think about the funeral.

"Come on," Nick whispered s he let go of Judy, and she got out of his lap.

Nick stood up, and Judy followed, they went into the kitchen and got cereal. They both quickly ate their food before Nick got a cloth and a sponge so he could clean his blood off the floor in their room and the trail that led to the kitchen. He cleaned it up then dried the wet area, once he finished he and Judy took a shower together. It was normal for them to do this together, it made it easier to clean their backs because they could help one another, and well who doesn't want to take a shower with their spouse?

Nick followed Judy into the bedroom where they got undressed and grabbed a couple of towels, they went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The bandaging Judy used on nicks ear was waterproof so Nick could take a shower without it getting soaked and the hot water wouldn't hurt him.

After the shower, the two of them brushed their fur and used the body dryer to dry their fur before they both took a grooming brush to their fur before they both got dressed in their ceremonial uniforms.

"I hate wearing this thing, it's way too tight I can't even tie my tie done because it's so tight," Nick said with annoyance while trying to tie his tie around his neck.

Judy jumped up onto the bed, and Nick turned around for her to help him.

"Well let's hope we don't have to wear them again for a very long time," Judy said while she helped him with his tie.

Judy finished up Nick's tie, and Nick said in agreement, "agreed. Thanks."

Judy kissed Nick, then she jumped off the bed, and Nick followed her out of their room.

"You want some coffee?" Judy asked while she made her way to the kitchen.

"Sure," Nick replied happily.

Judy walked over to the pot of coffee she had made some time earlier, she grabbed to mugs and lured the coffee into them. She passed Nick the coffee, and they gulped it. They left the cups in the sink before they left their apartment and headed to the side parking where their patrol vehicle was left for just over a week. Nick unlocked the doors with the automatic button on the keys, he got into the driver side and put the key into the ignition twisting it turning on the car. Judy got in on the passenger side, and she buckled herself in before Nick put the car into drive and pulled away from the parking lot and headed for the road.

They drove through the city making their way to the funeral home with a cemetery beside it where the Bogo's bodies would be buried. It was just outside the city by half a kilometer, it would be a great final resting place, for them.

Nick pulled up into the parking lot which was already filled with dozens of vehicles.

"Looks like there's going to be a lot of animals here," Nick said to Judy glancing at him to notice how nervous she was. "Judy, are you okay?" He asked placing his paw on her shoulder.

"What if they blame us, what if they say it's our fault?" She asked nervously.

"Listen no one is going to say it's our fault because it's not, okay," Nick replied calmly with a subtle smile of reassurance.

Nick pulled Judy over and hugged her before releasing her, they both got out and walked over to the funeral home. Nick walked up with Judy close behind him; he pushed open the door to see around forty animals all standing and sitting in the chairs, they were all talking about the memories they had with the Bogos

"You see no one here is ready to blame anyone other than the wolf who, caused this," Nick said with a smile of assurance. "Come on let's go talk to Ben, I'm sure he wants to talk," Nick insisted with a calmer tone one filled with more seriousness.

"Y-You go speak to him I need to use the bathroom," Judy said still sounding as if she was about to burst out crying.

"Okay I'll be with Ben most likely," he replied walking away from his wife.

Judy had lied, she didn't need to use the restroom, she wanted to go and see the chief's body without Nick, she felt the need to do it alone. She walked through the crowd of animals making her way up to the front where there was two caskets side by side. There were slept up to them for smaller animals who wanted to see them one last time. Judy nervously climbed up the steps until she could see the bodies.

All the wounds from the bullets and the autopsy incisions were cleaned up and hidden as best as the mortician could, and the two were put into their best clothes Thelonious was in his ceremonial uniform, while his wife Janet was in a very expensive red dress.

Tears began to fall from Judy's face, and one fell from her face and fell onto the chief's uniform.

She wiped her eyes and said calmly and quietly, "I'm sorry, this is all my fault, everything is my fault." Judy pulled her badge off of her uniform she placed it on the edge of the casket before she whispered out, "I let you down chief, I don't deserve this badge, me having it is only causing pain."

Judy walked down the steps and towards the front door; Nick noticed her and ran after her. He caught up to her outside stopping her from walking away by putting his paw on her shoulder.

"Judy, are you okay?" Nick asked with worry.

"I don't care what I've said in the past what you're saying, this is my fault," Judy said turning around to look at Nick with tears dripping from her eyes.

"W-What, it's not your fault," Nick replied with shock and empathy for her.

"Everything that's happened this week that's still happening is my fault. I shouldn't have let you be the one with the gun; I should have had it. I should've have known you were too scared of losing me, but I let you have the only gun," Judy said with self-hatred.

"No Judy that was because of these fucking nightmares, that isn't your fault," Nick replied with sympathy, yet anger.

"Don't you get it! They are my fault; I'm a cop, and you're fucking petrified of losing me to a criminal. What about the dream you had at the hospital? That proves to me I made the mistake of letting you have the gun. I'm the reason for the Nightmares, and that is why I quit," Judy replied with a brittle uneasy voice.

"You what?" Nick said with complete surprise.

Judy looked down then back up at Nick who, was right in front of him and she answered calmly, "I quit Nick, this is for the best for everyone, the is the best for you."

"Oh god .. Judy," he said with sympathy and empathy in his voice.

He went to hug her, but Judy quickly pushed him away after a few seconds and said with a more calm voice, "Nick I just need to be alone right now ... I'll see you at home, please don't follow me."

Judy walked away from him, and he just watched in complete shock over what just happened. Nick fell to his knees and just stayed there watching her leave. After ten or so minutes went by Nick got up and headed back into the home and walked up to the front of the large room with the caskets. He went to sit down when he saw Judy's badge sitting on the edge of one of the caskets, Nick Stood back up and walked over to them. He walked up the steps he grabbed the badge and looked down at the two bodies.

"Rest in peace Bogos," Nick whispered to them before going back to his seat.

Soon everyone began to take their seats and once they were all seated the speaking started. Anyone close to the Bogos was allowed to share even some that didn't know them personally. First, clawhauser went up and cried out his speech, then a bunch of animals Nick barely knew walked up and said a few things. The last to go was Eric Short, he talked about memories he had with them and a few cases they cracked together, but then he finished, and Nick felt the need to say something.

Nick stood up and walked up to the front and got in front of the microphone, he adjusted it and spoke calmly into it, "hello, not a lot of you know who, I am, and I don't know a lot of you. It's clear to me, however, that we all knew Thelonious and Janet. Thelonious was my wife and I's boss, but he was a friend too, and I tell you this, this city wouldn't have survived as much as it has over the years if it wasn't for him. I can't say I knew Janet too well, but I do know he cared enough for her to break every protocol we have at the ZPD to try and save her. I know they loved one another, and I know they were destined to be together to the very end of their lives. Yes, what happened what tragic and should have never happened, but every time I think about them, I think about how they spent their last moments of life together and that they both saw the others face before they were killed. Rest in peace Thelonious and Janet Bogo."

Nick walked away and back to his chair.

A few more minutes went by; then they decided to move the funeral along. Eight of the larger animals that worked at the ZPD carried the coffins out of the building and to the place where they were to be buried. They lowered the caskets into the ground and then the eight animals that lowered the coffins picked up their rifles and shot them a few times just like any other funeral of a cop or soldier. The holes were filled with dirt, and everyone began to leave some stayed longer, but they soon left until the only two there was Nick and Eric.

"There is someone out there who is involved with this, I found records at the prison that Jason was in that say someone under an assumed name visited him regularly. I went to check the security footage, but it had all been erased, none of them know how it was done, but it confirms that there is something more going on here," Eric said calmly to Nick while they stood in front of the graves with blank faces Nick making eye contact.

"What am I supposed to do about it? Judy just quit, and I'm not a detective, I'm doing this job on my own," Nick questioned calmly.

"Judy, left, she quit?" Eric said slightly surprised that she would do such a thing.

"She thinks this is all her fault, that all the things we have been through happened because she is a cop and that quitting is the only way to make things right," Nick replied with a stale tone.

"Then I guess you're the only one I need to get a new badge for," Eric said turning his head to Nick.

"What?" Nick replied looking to Eric.

"look the truth is the ZPD doesn't have enough manpower, we don't have enough detectives to investigate the crimes we have every day in Zootopia. I need someone to look into this, but I don't have anyone and I can't trust anyone other than you and Judy when it comes to this. Jason was a cop, that begs the question, what if the animal we are looking for is a cop? We need to keep this quiet," he said with a calm tone.

"Don't I need to take some test to prove I'm good enough to be a detective?" Nick asked with peaked interest.

"Normally yes, but I don't have time for that, I've seen your investigative skills, you alone are better at solving crime over half the detectives in the precinct. Hell Judy is better than anyone in the whole city, but clearly she's in a dark place right now, however, when she changes her mind, Judy has a spot as a detective alongside you," he said with a subtle change in tone to a happier one.

"Does this mean I'm no longer suspended?" Nick asked with a grin.

"Yes actually it does, I need you to get on this as soon as possible," he replied with a calm tone.

"Wait for a second, since when did you have the power to do this?" Nick asked suddenly realizing what Eric was doing is something only the chief of police or higher could do.

"Last week you told me the Mayor would want me to replace Bogo, well you were right, I'm the new chief of police," he replied calmly.

"This is going to take some getting used to," Nick said not surprised at all that Eric was promoted.

"Believe me it's harder for me than it is for you," he replied with a slight smile. Eric looked at his watch and added, "well we should get going, I have some things to do, and I'm sure Judy wants to be with you by now. Bye Nick."

Eric started to walk away, then Nick spoke up, "Short, that's detective Wilde to you."

Eric laughed and continued walking away eventually reaching his car, getting in and driving away.

Nick stood in front of the graves for another ten minutes before he turned around and walked away.

He drove home with silence; he parked the car in the same spot as before he and Judy left, Nick stopped the car and got out locking the doors behind him. He went into the apartment complex and walked up the stairs to his and Judy's floor; Nick went to put his key in the door, but it was already unlocked, so he turned the handle opening the door. He looked around all the lights were off; he walked throughout the apartment, and Judy was nowhere to be seen.

Nick didn't worry too much; he knew she was probably out for a run or something. However, when she didn't come home for nearly three hours and the sun had set bringing on the darkness of night; Nick knew there was something wrong. So, he grabbed his ZPD jacket slipping it on over his uniform that he had yet to take off and he left to search for her.

He searched every street around their building and streets further passed that until he ran into a bar.

"She wouldn't be in there, Judy doesn't drink," Nick thought to himself. "Unless ...," he quietly said to himself.

Nick crossed the street and walked up to the bar; he peeked in through the window when he noticed her in the far corner booth. He walked into the bar and went straight to where Judy was sitting.

She had a bottle of whiskey on the table and a shot glass in her paw.

"Judy, what are you doing? You don't drink," Nick asked with worry.

Judy looked up at him, and she smiled while saying, "oh ... honey hey. You want some, I-I think it's like forty percent."

"Oh god you're drunk aren't you?" Nick asked with slightly less worry than before.

"What! I-I'm not drunk ... I've had like ...," Judy slurred out.

"Come on Judy, let's go," Nick said calmly extending his paw to her.

"Oh how kind of your ... w-where are we going?" Judy asked taking his paw.

Nick pulled her up, but when he did she almost fell, and he caught her before she fell.

"We are going home," Nick replied calmly.

"Oh, w-will there be you there?" She asked happily, burping right after.

"What ... uh, yes, of course, I will be," Nick replied slightly confused by how she was speaking.

"Awesome!" She exclaimed overjoyed for something that was normal for them.

Nick picked up Judy and walked with her in his arms; he knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself up while walking home. Judy kept on saying strange things that made no sense. Nick brought Judy into their apartment; he brought her to their bathroom so she could puke into the toilet. Nick sat with her the whole time to make sure she was okay and after she had stopped he helped clean her from the throw up that got onto her. He then took her to their bed and helped her get out of her uniform and into the bed.

Nick gave Judy a quick kiss on the forehead before he said calmly, "sleep well, my love."

"Nick," Judy spoke up suddenly.

"Yeah hon," Nick said calmly with a smile.

"I'm sorry for getting so mad today. I-I just want to help you, a-and ...," Judy said hesitantly.

"Shh, it's okay Judy, I'm not mad at you, we will talk about this later, but for now just get some sleep okay," Nick replied happily.

"I love you, Nick," Judy said with pleased.

"I love you too Carrots, sleep well," he replied giving Judy a kiss on the cheek.

Nick turned off the light and shut the door to the bedroom, he took off his uniform in the living room and lied down on the couch in just his underwear. He didn't go to sleep in the bedroom with Judy, for if he had another nightmare, he didn't want to wake her from the sleep she most definitely needed.

* * *

 **Hey, so that happened ...**

 **Why hello there, how ya' doing? great good that's always good, well I'm happy you read this chapter if you left a review for me to read I'd be well even happier.**

 **Until next time**


	10. The Most Important Tool

Chapter Ten: The Most Important Tool

The world is filled with evil; it is a fact, one we can not change. There is evil that is easily vanquished, but how do you destroy an evil that will kill the ones they love to get away?

* * *

Judy had the first hangover of her life, and because of that she didn't do much over the weekend, Nick went for three runs without her, normally they would do those together on the weekend, but nothing was the same, perfect was something they no longer had.

Nick had two more nightmares over the weekend; he hated what was happening to him, every time he slept, he was plagued with such unwanted thoughts. However the week had ended, it was Monday morning, and now he had something to occupy his mind. The search for an animal that somehow was involved with the killing of the chief and his wife, they needed to know what he did to convince Jason to kill them.

Nick laid in his bed for hours staring up at the ceiling; he had just gone through another nightmare, and he couldn't fall back asleep. He didn't want to sleep, but he knew what would happen if he didn't, and Nick promised Judy he would try his best to sleep.

Once the clock hit five thirty, AM Nick got out of bed. Usually, he would put on his uniform, but he wasn't going back to work as a patrol officer, he was going back as a detective. So, he needed something a detective would wear, and he had no idea what they wore.

He grabbed his phone and went into the search browser; he typed in the question, "what do detectives wear?"

He found out what they wore and decided to go with the most professional look, the suit. Nick always thought he looked good in a suit, so wearing one to work was something he would gladly do. Nick searched through his closet for the black suit he had tailored for him six months back for a particular occasion he had no choice, but to go to. Nick took the dry cleaning bag off it and slipped it on as best he could without making wrinkles in it. Nick Went into the kitchen and quickly got two pieces of toast before leaving the apartment. He walked out the front door to the apartment complex over to the side where the parking lot was, and he went straight for his car.

Nick started up the car and drove it out on the street. He turned on the head lights for it was only dusk and he drove to the ZPD. Nick pulled in and drove into the underground parking lot, pulling the car into the designated parking space, and turning the vehicle off before getting out and locking it. He went straight to the elevator and took it to the top floor so he wouldn't have to deal with Clawhauser. The doors opened, and immediately dozens of voices could be heard from towering animals. Nick walked around the large animals and made his way to the hallway that led to the stairs and the chief's office.

Nick knocked on the door, and immediately he heard Eric exclaim, "come!"

Nick obeyed and opened the door, upon opening it he saw the lion sitting behind the desk that still had Thelonious' stuff on it. He jumped on the chair and leaned forward.

"so Eric, how is this going to work?" Nick asked with a grin on his face.

"well, you're going to get a new badge; which I have right here," he replied calmly while pulling out a small golden badge out of his pocket.

Nick grabbed it and had a look at it, reading the inscription that said, "Detective Nichols P. Wilde."

"cool, but this doesn't make it official," Nick calmly said.

"W-What do you mean?" the lion asked confused.

"I need a desk, then it's official," he replied with a chuckle.

"that won't be here until tomorrow, no one ships products on the weekend," Eric said with a smile.

"sweet!" chippered Nick

"now, as I was saying, you will need a new badge, and now you do. Next, you're going to keep this case file safe, no one other than me and you can see it," Eric said with a calmer voice, passing Nick the case file with all the evidence they had on the other animal involved with the Bogo's deaths.

"what's in it?" he asked while grabbing it.

"right now, only what I was able to find, which wasn't much. fabricated prison records, a disk with the sound recorded by the camera in the negotiation room at the jail; there isn't much, but it has about four seconds of two animals talking one of them being Jason," he answered quickly and calmly.

"you haven't been able to use voice recognition to identify who it is?" Nick asked while reading the prison records.

"no, it was too distorted by the recovery process to try and get the footage from the camera, that all we could retrieve, everything else including the video was static," he said with disappointment.

"You're really making it hard aren't you," Nick said while tossing the case file that was useless on the desk. "How did the officers at the jail not even notice that the records were falsified it's clear they were, I mean come on there's a smiley face on every page," Nick questioned slightly bothered by the lacking intelligence in prison personal.

Eric sighed and replied, "look this guy is smart, he's clearly done things like this before. I had a few of the guards from the prison try and recall his face, but all they could tell me was that he was a black panther."

"so all we know about what he looks like is that he's a Panther," Nick said calmly. "great, so now we know what kind of species he is. In a city that has more than nine thousand square kilometers and a population of forty-five million, that only narrows it down to Tens of thousands!" Nick sarcastically added.

"Think, Wilde; you have connections all over the city, can't you use them to get something?" He asked, hoping Nick could come up with something.

"I don't think there is anything to be dug up, we have nothing, and even if there were all my connections went up in flames when I became a cop," Nick replied hopelessly. "Wait," Nick suddenly said with a hope in his voice. "At the funeral, you said the animal involved in this might be a cop. Why didn't I think of this? Eric check the ZPD database for all cops who are Panthers, that should narrow it down," Nick ordered confidently.

Eric pulled up the database on his computer and searched for police who were Panthers.

"Okay I got two hundred and sixty results, and if I narrow it down to gender I have one hundred and fourteen, but that still leaves us too many variables," Eric quickly said while turning the computer screen around for Nick to see.

"You know how I said I have no more connections, well I lied, there is one, but even he's a long shot," Nick said calmly while looking up at Eric with a grin.

"Are you sure, because this would be the only lead in the entire investigation," Eric asked wanting assurance that nick's connection would pan out.

"The only thing I can granite is he's going to be an ass hole about it," Nick replied with a serious look on his face, but at the same time a smirk of sarcasm.

"can he help or not?" Eric again asked with a stern tone and a roll of the eyes.

"yes; Hey now that I'm a detective do I get my own detective vehicle?" Nick replied as he jumped off of the chair.

"Maybe, just go," Eric replied while pointing to the door.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, jeez someone needs to take a chill pill," Nick added with a grin while opening the door to the office.

He closed it behind him and went back into the room wit all the detectives, Nick went to the elevator and took it down to the underground parking. He walked back to his car and got in turning it on and driving out.

Nick drove for twenty-five minutes until he came into Sahara square.

"Come on buddy, where are you?" Nick asked himself while looking for his old friend.

Another ten minutes went by, and Nick still had nothing, when he noticed the vehicle he had spent so much time in. He pulled his car into a parallel park, and got out; he walked over to the van with the Aztec art all over its body.

Nick walked to the back door of the van and knocked on it as hard as he could. Immediately after the door came flying open and standing there was Finnick with his baseball bat.

"Put that thing away would ya," Nick demanded with a smirk.

Finnick did what he said, and dropped the bat, and he asked with his deep gravely voice, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I came to catch up. What else would I be doing?" Nick replied throwing his arms out.

"Sure and I'm fucking tall!" Finnick replied sarcastically.

"Well for a fennec you are," Nick added with a smirk and a lively tone.

"Nick it's been more than two years since we spoke. So cut the crap and tell me why you're here," the small fox demanded with his angered tone which only made his voice sound deeper.

"Well if you let me come in I'll tell you," Nick offered with a calm voice.

Finnick agreed, and Nick hopped into the van pulling the door shut behind him.

"Now that's better," Nick said with a smile and a happy tone.

"Okay dumb ass, you're in the van, now tell me why you're here," Finnick ordered.

"Okay, I'm looking for a black panther, and he's a cop, but not the kind you want to know," Nick answered calmly.

"There is no police I want to know," the big-eared fox replied.

"You know what I mean Finnick," Nick added with an annoyed look on his face. "look, he's involved with the murder of Thelonius and his wife. So is there anything you know about a crooked cop?" Nick asked with a calm voice with kind eyes.

Finnick sighed, then replied, "Promise me you won't have me arrested over what I'm about to tell you?"

"Cross my heart," Nick answered with a smile.

"Okay, I was at what we will call a party. At this party, there was a drug deal going down, I overheard one of them say the drugs were for some dick head cop that freaked him out because of his dark fur, and his rich vocabulary," Finnick said with a calmness to his tone.

"Who was this dealer?" Nick asked.

"He's a jackass," Finnick replied.

"No really who is he?" Nick again asked.

"A donkey you moron!" Finnick replied laughing under his breath. "his name is Jorden Elliott," he added with laughing.

"Thanks, Big Guy," Nick said while opening the back door to the van.

"Hey wait, don't I get something for helping you with a police investigation?" Finnick exclaimed while jumping out of his van.

"Yeah I don't arrest you for being at a party with drugs, or for being on drugs yourself," he replied with a smirk while walking back to his car.

"You're an asshole, Nick!" Finnick yelled out in anger.

"love you too Bud!" he said while getting into his car.

Nick chuckled while turning on the small computer on the dashboard of the vehicle, he pulled out the small keyboard and typed the name, Jorden Elliott. A couple of dozen results showed up, and he clicked on the one that said species equine, donkey. The information loaded and what he saw shocked him.

"Deceased!" he exclaimed I surprise. "fuck!" he added in anger punching the roof of his car. he got back out and yelled at Finnick before he shut the door of his van, "Hey!" he marched over to Finnick and added with rage, "the Mother fucker is dead, Why the fuck didn't you tell me that?"

"W-What! I swear he was alive four days ago," he replied with widened eyes looking down then back up at Nick who was towering over him.

"How do you know for sure he was alive?" Nick asked picking him up off the ground looking him directly in the eyes.

"Because I didn't overhear him making a deal with someone because I was who he was making a deal with, okay!" Finnick answered with anger in his own voice. "A day after the deal I found out I was fucked over by the fucker, so I tracked him down and forced him to give me the drugs back. I know he was alive because I only broke his arm okay," he answered looking down away from Nick.

Nick let Finnick down, and he punched the door of the van while he said, "God dammit!"

"Hey, don't take it own on her, it's not my fault, the dumb ass probably overdosed or something," Finnick said looking up at Nick who was pissed.

"Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do now?" Nick asked while trying to calm himself.

"Think you, idiot, what do you think was going to happen when he didn't get the drugs for the cop, he probably killed him, by overdosing him on something, so find out what precinct got the case," he answered calmly.

"You're right, but I'm positive he would have covered his tracks by having someone else handle the investigation," Nick replied lacking hope.

"Yes, but think about it, what would be the best way to cover your tracks? make it look like the guy overdosed and give the case to a friend in your precinct. You tell them you did all the work you just don't have the time to file the paperwork," Finnick said with a calm, yet annoyed filled voice.

"Finnick you're a life saver, you should become a cop," Nick said suddenly filled with content.

Finnick looked at him and chuckled out, "yeah, I'd rather die."

Nick ran back to his car and found the precinct number and the detective that handled the case.

"River Johnson, Precinct Seven," Nick read to himself.

he started his car, pulled out of the parallel park and drove off.

Finnick watched with a smirk while he said to himself, "good luck, stupid."

Nick drove from the Sahara Square all the way to precinct seven. It was in the near the edge of the Meadow Lands and City Central, it was a third the size and only had fourth the personal of Precinct One.

Nick parked in front of the Station and looked out the front window of his car to read the sign that said, "ZPD Precinct Seven."

He got out of his vehicle and walked through the front door. Nick went to reception and hit the little bell on the desk.

"Oh, hello, how may I help you?" the Jaguar asked with a smile on her face.

Nick pulled out his new badge and said calmly, "yes I'm detective Nick Wilde, I need to speak to one of your detectives."

"Okay, and what the name of the detective?" she asked while turning on her computer and going to the search bar.

"Detective River Johnson," Nick replied calmly.

the Jaguar punched in the name and got the information she needed before she said with a kind voice, "okay she on the second floor, desk nine."

"Thank you," Nick added before walked over to the stairs and headed for the second floor.

When entered the room with all the detectives, to his surprise there were only ten desks for the ten detectives they had. Precinct One Had forty of their own if that was classified underpowered, then he didn't want to know how hard it was for this precinct to function with only ten in an area that had double the crime than more than half the city.

Nick walked up to the detective sitting at desk nine, and he said calmly with a smile, "Hello, uh, Detective Johnson?"

"Yes that would be me," the wolf replied with a smile of hr own.

Nick hopped onto the chair in front of the desk, and he said calmly, "I was hoping you could help me with my investigation."

"Uh, as you can see I'm a little overwhelmed with my own cases I don't think I'd be of much help to you, sorry," she replied with disappointment.

"Well I beg to differ, you remember a case you worked on recently about a dead drug dealer named Jorden Elliot, he was a donkey?" Nick asked with a calm voice.

"yes as a matter of fact I do, it was a case my friend worked. Told me he didn't have enough time to deal with the paperwork and asked me to finish it for him," she happily replied.

"who is this friend is he a detective here?" Nick asked hoping he would finally find out her the panther was.

"Uh, yes he's a Panther, his name is Darcy Davis," River replied, with content.

"did you just say Darcy Davis, as in the Darcy Davis that was married to an Angela Williams?" Nick asked in shock as to what he just told.

"Y-Yes, h-how did you know that?" she asked confused as to how Nick knew about his past marriage.

"You're not going to believe this, but his ex-wife treated me when I was in the hospital. I never thought that it would have been her ex-husband that was behind everything," Nick said with complete surprise.

"What, what do you mean behind what?" River asked still bewildered by the whole situation.

Nick looked at her, and immediately he knew that she had no involvement with Darcy, so he answered quickly, but calmly, "Look last week the chief of police Thelonius Bogo and his wife her murdered by an ex-cop. That cop was manipulated to believe that his life falling apart was all because of Chief Bogo, so he killed him and his wife. We found out that a black panther was the one manipulating him while he was in prison. It took some digging, but I discovered that there was a crooked cop asking for some sort of drug and the dealer that was supposed to get him the stuff was Jordon Elliot, and he was killed three days ago. Darcy must have handled the case until it was time to put his name on file, so he had you do the paperwork for him to cover his tracks."

"H-How do you know that is true?" She asked completely shocked by what Nick was saying about Darcy.

"Well, where is he? I need to interrogate him to find out the truth," Nick calmly asked.

"He called in sick this morning, said his doctor told him to stay home for a few days," River replied still not feeling suspicious.

"Where does he live?" Nick asked with jumping down from the chair.

"He lives three blocks from here, in an apartment complex," she answered standing up from her chair. "I'm coming with you," she added grabbing her gun.

She followed Nick to his car and, Nick got in the front, but River had to get into the back because the front seat wasn't big enough for her. They drove the three blocks and stopped in front of an apartment building.

"He's on the fourth floor, I've been there before," she said while getting out of the patrol vehicle.

"Wait why have you been there before?" Nick asked as he too exited the car.

"Uh, no reason just was," she replied hesitantly.

Nick stopped her in her tracks by grabbing her arm.

"You don't believe he did any of the things I've accused him of, do you?" He asked calmly.

She sighed and answered with slight annoyance, "no because he would never do such a thing like that!"

"You two are lovers?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"Y-Yes, and I'm telling you I know him, he would never do what you think he's done," she replied with a stern voice.

"Well then let's go ask him, there is no harm in that," Nick suggested.

River sighed then said calmly, "okay."

"Lead the way," he replied extending her arm out towards the door to the apartment building.

Nick followed River into the building, the two of them took the elevator to the fourth floor. They walked up the hall until they reached apartment four thirteen.

River knocked and happily said, "Hey Darcy it's me River can I come in?"

After thirty seconds no one answered, so Nick said with an order in his voice, "you must have a key open it."

She looked at him with annoyed eyes, but she complied by pulling out her keys and sticking one of them into the door knob.

"Darcy I'm coming in!" She exclaimed while twisting the key.

She took the key out of the door and when she opened it there was a ticking noise.

"What's that?" She asked confused by it.

Nick's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, he exclaimed while running back, "it's a bomb move!"

Then, BOOM! An explosion blew out from the door, the force throwing Nick ten feet and River into the wall behind her.

"Son of Bitch!" Nick yelled while trying to get back up.

He got back up leaning against the wall for his balance was thrown off by the explosion. All Nick could see in front of him was fire and smoke; then the fire alarm went off and the sprinklers starting splashing water everywhere to try and put out the fire.

Nick regained his balance, and he ran towards the fire and tried to get River. He found her lodged in the wall that was behind her, the fire started to go out, and Nick could see more clearly as to what happened.

"God dammit River," Nick said looking down at her torso to see a piece of the door in her stomach with blood gushing out from it.

He checked her pulse, to see that it was pointless for there was another fragment from the bomb in her next. Then he noticed that it wasn't they only thing in her, there were cuts and holes all over her body. A dirty bomb, rigged with projectiles, they covered her body, she was unlucky standing right in the doorway, where they were aiming.

"Mother fucker!" Nick yelled with rage.

Nick managed to pull her body out from the indent in the wall; he pulled her away from the burnt part of the hall.

Then, out of nowhere a black bear Said completely shocked, "Oh my god! Is she?"

"Sir I need you to get back!" Nick exclaimed as he pulled His radio off his belt. "This detective Wilde, I have an officer down, my location is one twenty-eight Angles Drive, I'm on the fourth floor of the apartment complex," he quickly said into is walky-talky while assessing the situation.

A few seconds went by when a voice came on the radio and asked, "detective, what is the state of the officer?"

He clicked the talk button and replied with a stale angered tone, "Dead."

"Detective what is the situation?" the voice asked, still calm.

"There has been an explosion," he stated. "A dirty bomb was set off, there were projectiles planted in it, they hit Detective River, killing her instantly," Nick added while looking down at the dead wolf, shrapnel and small pieces of glass covering her body.

While Nick explained the situation, more residents of the building began to show up.

"Everyone! I'm Detective Nick Wilde; I need all of you to stay back from the crime scene!" he yelled over the noise of the enlarging crowd.

Nick tried his best to keep the situation under control. He managed to stop anyone from doing something stupid until all the authorities he sent for showed up to secure the apartment building. The body of River Johnson was loaded into an ambulance for transfer so a ZPD coroner could examine the cause of death.

Meanwhile, Nick got his arm bandaged for the wound on resulting from the shrapnel he didn't notice hit him. Then Nick had to speak with another detective to explain what happened. That wasn't going to go well.

"Look I told you already, I can't say why I'm here it's above your pay grade," Nick said to the rhino with frustration.

"Okay, sure Fox," the huge animal replied with a subtle chuckle in his tone.

"Okay, listen Shit for brains! I'm not telling you why I'm here. I was instructed to inform no one unless necessary, and I don't find you knowing, uh, necessary," Nick replied being finished dealing with the detective.

"you little bitch!" the Rhino yelled thoroughly angered by Nicks remarks.

"detective!" a voice exclaimed from behind the two detectives.

both Nick and the rhino turned around ti see the new chief of police standing ten feet away from them on the other side of the street.

"Eric! Thank God, Tell this hard head to kick it," Nick demanded.

The lion crossed the road and walked right up to them and replied, "both of you stop! Wilde, I'll take it from here, go speak to the press."

Nick looked at him with surprise, and he tried to say, "W-Why do I-,"

"because I hate the press, and you're good at lying," Eric answered.

Nick gave him a confused look while he asked, "Why am I lying to the press, and furthermore what am I lying about?"

"Well, I don't know, Wilde, what were you not going to tell him?" Eric replied pointing to the rhino beside him.

Nick shrugged his shoulders and said with a calmer tone, "Fine, I will go and lie to the press."

Nick walked passed the two large animals, he went straight up to the caution tape and walked under it. Immediately, more than a dozen animals came running up to him.

All of them began to speak, and it jumbled the questions, "Detective! What's the situation? What has happened, who is responsible?"

"stop. Shut up!" Nick said with annoyance. Nick then said calmly, "Okay, good. To answer all of your questions, I'm detective Nick Wilde, there was an explosion on the fourth floor, there was no perpetrator, it was an accident caused by faulty wiring and plumbing. The electricity got touched by some water, and it caused a spark. Unfortunately, there was an antique gas lamp in the apartment that created and explanation, which in turn killed a friend of mine detective, River Johnson."

"detective! why were you and Detective Johnson going to this apartment?" one of the new anchors asked.

"River and I are good friends with the tenant who lives there, we were going to see him, but he wasn't home. then the explosion occurred," Nick replied calmly. "no more questions, thanks!" he added as the crowd began to get loud again.

Nick bent under the caution tape and walked back over to Eric who had just finished speaking with the rhino whom Nick thought was annoying.

"There I lied," Nick said to Eric walking passed him.

"Nick!" he yelled suddenly. "What did you find out?" he asked calmly.

He turned around and replied, "the panther is a cop named Darcy Davis. Eric, he just killed his lover, what kind of animal does such a thing?"

"Good work, Now we know who he is, and we can find him," Eric said lacking care for the life just lost in his voice.

"Don't you get it, this guy Knew I was coming, How did he know I would show up? Fuck! How did he know I would find a lead that I would have never found if I didn't go and talk to Finnick? Eric this guy is playing a fucking mind game with me I can tell! Not to mention I met his ex-wife last week!" Nick yelled out.

"Nick, calm down. Are you okay?" He asked.

"I don't know Eric," he replied calmly. "I mean I just saw someone gets killed by a bomb, I don't know," he added completely unsure if he was going to pull through.

"Look, uh, maybe I should've handled this case myself," Eric suggested.

"No, Eric, I'm alright I can do this, this guy isn't going to get to me," Nick replied with confidence.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Eric, I can do this, I'll find Darcy and bring him to justice," Nick replied.

Suddenly Nick's phone dinged. He pulled it out of his pocket, and it said the time was three thirty PM, and he had an appointment with Doctor White a half an hour from then.

"who is it?" Eric asked

"Uh, I have and appointment to get to, it's not far from here. you have this under control right?" Nick replied, putting his phone back into his pocket.

"Yeah, yeah. go, I got it," the curious lion answered.

"Thanks, I need you to send someone to the Bunny Burrow General Hospital, Darcy's Ex-wife works there, make sure she's safe," Nick ordered.

"Okay, got it," Eric replied while he began to walk back towards the apartment building.

Nick walked over to his car park on the opposite side of the street where the apartment was. He got in, started it, and drove off. Nick drove for about fifteen minutes before pulling up in front of the Oakwood Centre. Nick parked beside the building, but he didn't get out. Nick sat there and began to cry, becoming overwhelmed completely by all the images going through his head of the dead wolf, having to pull her away from the fire, seeing glass shard cover her body, cutting into her, killing her. He sat in the car for nearly five minutes pondering the thought of how Darcy Davis could kill someone he was supposed to love.

"How am I going to do this job without you, Judy?" Nick asked with a sniffle.

Nick got out of the car, and he wiped his shoulders of dust. Not that it mattered seeing as there was a rip in one of them and he had a bandage covering his right forearm.

Nick entered the building, and he wants up to the receptionist who looked at him with shock.

"Oh my God, are you okay," she asked with widened eyes.

Nick smiled and replied, "I'm okay, got into a little situation, at work, I'm a cop so."

"Oh my!" she said while looking at his arm and then his ear.

Nick noticed she was glancing at it, so he said calmly and with a smirk while pointing to his ear, "Oh that was a different situation at work." then he added happily, "anyway, I'm here to see Doctor White."

"Okay, let me see ...," she replied while typing on her computer. "ah, yes your appointment is at five so in ten minutes. you can go now," she added with a smile.

"Thank you," Nick replied smiling back at her.

Nick walked away, heading towards the lift. He clicked the button, and the doors opened letting him walk in and click another button to take him to the sixth floor of the building. The door closed, and the elevator jolted going upward quickly and smoothly; when it stopped, Nick got out and went right to the door with the numbers six zero four.

He knocked, and Mattew hollered, "Come in!"

Nick opened the door and said with a chipper in his voice, "Hello Doctor White."

"Hello Nick ...," Matthew said, but once he looked at his appearance, he noticed his arm and the rip in his suit. "Nick what happened to you?" he asked.

Nick scratched his head and replied looking at him with a smirk, "Now that is a story you are going to love.

"well before you do that sign this," Matthew asked passing Nick a legal document.

The paper explained that he couldn't reveal anything they spoke about unless he was given information that could have involvement with suicide or something worse. There was also an additional line of legal obligations that Matthew White had to follow because of Nick being a cop, and the paper said that he was not allowed to reveal information about cases Nick worked.

Nick signed the paper and passed it back to him, "here."

"Thank you, now what did that to you?" He asked placing that papers on his desk.

"Well, long story short, I was hit by an explosion," Nick said quickly said he sat down.

"Oh, well, uh, sounds horrible," he replied while he sat down.

"Yeah, i-it was," Nick said looking down at his foot which had a small cut that had gone unnoticed until now.

Matthew saw in Nick's eyes that he was troubled more by what had happened then what he was letting on.

"There is something more to this explosion, isn't there?" Matthew asked.

Nick looked up and said with a flat face, "yeah, there is ..."

"It's okay Nick; this is what we are supposed to do here, talk about what bothers you, discuss the things that make you scared for your wife's life," Matthew said trying to reassure Nick that he could tell him what was bothered him.

"You know I, ve seen lots of dead animals, I'm a cop, it's the inevitable, but today something was different. I don't know how to explain it, but I couldn't handle seeing someone dead," Nick replied calmly, with little agitation. "I don't know; maybe it was how she died, who killed her. I mean who would be capable of doing what this guy did?" He asked while picking at one of his nails.

"H-Hold on, slow down, Nick. Who did what to whom?" Matthew asked with a calming tone.

"There is this Panther; he's responsible for the death of chief Bogo and his wife," he replied fixing his posture.

"I thought the animal that killed them, took his own life?" the Doctor questioned.

"well yes, but he was only doing hat he believed was right. he was manipulated by a cop named Darcy Davis; he made him believe that him being in prison was his fault and I still don't know why Darcy did it," Nick quickly said not stopping in his speed, for he wanted to get everything out now that he was on a rant. "I-I don't know how, but he's playing a game with me, why I couldn't possibly begin to tell you, but he is. everything that has happened today he planned!" Nick added standing up from his seat.

Matthew looked at Nick with shock.

"No wonder he was having such horrible thoughts about losing his wife, he deals with things like that," He thought to himself.

"Yeah, that's what I figured, shock. you know maybe this wasn't a good idea, I should just go," Nick said as he started to walk to the door.

"Wait, Nick," Matthew said standing up from his seat. "I know I'm not supposed to tell a patient to stay because it's better that way. I just don't think someone should go through what you are going through and not have someone to speak to about it. I know what you're going to say, you have Judy, But you need someone who can help you, someone that can tell you how to deal with these emotions. I'm not going to give you a drug to help you, hell I don't even believe in giving someone a drug for a problem that can be solved without them. I know this is going to be hard, but can you at least try and do the right thing, for yourself?" he said quickly, but with truthfulness.

Nick looked down, and he sighed before he whispered to himself, "what would Judy do?" he closed the door in front of him then he turned around and replied, "Okay, I'll try, but I can't promise you anything, I'm not the best at this. Had a lot of problems with shrinks as a kid."

"well have a seat, and we will start there, back when you were a child," Matthew offered with a subtle smile. "And Nick, I'm not a shrink," he added while taking his seat once again.

"You're lucky Doctor White; only one animal has ever heard what I'm about to tell you," Nick said with a cold voice, still conflicted over what needed to be done to heal him.

"Well tell me, Nick, when did you first feel fear?" Matthew asked with a soft tone.

Nick subtly smiled before it faded and he said, "long ago, I was eight or nine, still, can't remember which one it is. I wanted to join the junior ranger scouts, so I did, but ... They were all pray, and at the time I was smaller than all of them weaker than them. So, t-they put a muzzle on me, and I ran from them. I was afraid, and I used to believe I learned two things that day that is the world is going to see nothing but a low life fox that I should just give them that, and two I should never let them see that they get to me. Now after meeting Judy, I realized that I could be more than just a low life, that I can be more."

"What about the second thing, do you still believe in that?" Matthew asked.

"just at work and when it's necessary, I no longer believe in pretending to be happy, forcing positivity onto yourself doesn't work. You need to find real happiness, and Judy showed me that, but I'm a cop Doc, so I can't break down or be positive at a crime scene. Don't get me wrong I've gotten pissed at other cops for being idiots or just plain annoying, but I never let them see the horror in my eyes that I see now," Nick replied with a soft tone.

"I can see it's only been getting harder for you to keep that persona while at work, and yes I agree you shouldn't fake happiness all the time, I believe doing so is wrong, and it can only do more harm than good," Doctor White replied. "But please Nick, continue," the otter said while straightening himself.

"Fast forward a few years; I'm around twelve, I got into, uh, cunning hustling per say, I stopped caring about anything other than making money and my parents. I stopped caring about school failed everything because I didn't go, I would go into the office at school and fake my attendance. Teachers never noticed I was gone because they were just as bad the kids I was nothing but shit to them," Nick said quickly and with a subtle smile for it was a lovely time in his life. "So now that I was making money, like a lot of it, more than a twelve-year-old could ever need, I started giving to my parents. They didn't know it was me, though, I would leave envelopes filled with hundred dollar bills on the front doorstep every two weeks for the next four years until ...," he added pausing briefly.

"Nick what happened next?" the sympathetic Otter asked.

Nick sighed, then he sat up leaning slightly forward and said, "Uh, my father and I were walking home from lunch, we went to cross the street when a car hit my dad head on, it broke sixty-three different bones in his body, killing him instantly. M-My mother was torn apart by it, she lost the will to live and took her own life six months after my dad died. I was on my own no one left, so I stopped caring, stopped doing anything other than making money."

"That must've been difficult for you to deal with being only sixteen." Doctor White said calmly listening to Nick not making any changes to his own mood to keep Nick from further unwanted emotions.

"I was just a kid with nothing left, not even hope. So now two animals know about my childhood. How does it feel?" Nick asked.

"I feel like you had many reasons for becoming who you were. However, there is more you are not telling me," Matthew stated with certainty in his eyes.

"I don't feel like talking about that right now," Nick replied leaning back into the chair.

"That's okay when you feel you can tell me what you've told your wife, please do so," he said as he too laid back into his chair.

"well, what do you want to talk about next?" Nick asked while he stared passed the otter nd out the window of the office.

"I'm not sure, what about when you met Judy," the otter suggested.

Then, before Nick could talk his phone rang, he again sat up and pulled it out to see it said unknown caller ID. He clicked answer and put the phone to his right ear.

"Hello," he said confused slightly by the ominous of the call.

"Uh, is this Detective Nick Wilde?" the voice asked.

Nick looked to the Doctor in front of him, and he answered, "Y-Yes, that would be me."

"I was paid by a panther named Darcy Davis, to tell you to check the news from Bunny Burrow," he said before hanging up ending the call.

Nick looked at Matthew with a confused increasingly worrying look on his face.

"what happened?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know," Nick replied.

Nick searched up Bunny Burrow new, and the first thing to pop up was a new story about a death in the Bunny Burrow General Hospital.

Nick clicked on it, and he read, "Three hours ago a White Bengal Tiger named Angela Williams, was found dead with both Paws surgically removed. They were placed in on a table with a note that said the most important tool a surgeon has is their paws, without them their life has no meaning, and it should be ended."

Nick scrolled down, and a graphic warning was labeled right above a photo. Nick clicked on the photo, and it was a picture of Doctor Williams' paws with a note in them.

Nick had dropped his phone before he said completely horrified, "What the fuck!"

"Wha happened?" Matthew asked.

Nick looked at him with dismay and replied, "Someone was just killed, just to mess with me." Nick picked up his phone and closed the web browser, putting his phone back into his pocket before he said, "I need to go. I-I need to deal with this."

"I understand Nick, go," Matthew said with widened eyes.

Nick stood up and left quickly, running to the elevator, getting in and taking down to the first floor. He ran passed reception and out the front door, Nick got into his car and started it speeding off not to the ZPD, but home. Nick again grabbed his phone and called Judy

the phone rang twice before Judy picked it up and said, "Hey Nick."

"Judy, are you okay?" Nick asked with far in his tone.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, why?" she questioned.

"look I'm on my way home, lock the door don't let anyone in util I get there, okay," Nick quickly ordered while speeding passed other cars on the road with his sirens blaring.

"Nick wat happened?" she asked becoming worried herself.

"I don't have time to explain right now I just need you to be safe, so please lock the door, and get your gun," Nick begged.

"O-Okay just gets here soon," Judy replied.

"I love you," Nick said quickly

"I love you too," Judy replied before ending the call.

Nick tossed his phone on the dash and drove as fast as he could without crashing. After twenty minutes he pulled up in front of his apartment building, he grabbed his phone and got out running up the stairs and going straight to his apartment. He went to put his key in the door, but it open. Nick's heart began to race; he opened the door to see there was a struggle the kitchen table tipped over and blood on the floor and lines as if Judy tried to grip the ground, but it didn't matter, she was taken.

Nick fell to his knees then down onto his paws; he started crying unable to stop himself. He fell onto his side and wept.

"why? ... why are you doing this? ...," he cried out.

he laid on his side, staring at blood lines from Judy's fingers for nearly twenty minutes before he got back up and wiped his eyes.

"I won't let him win, I'll kill if I have to, but I will save you, my love," Nick whispered.

* * *

 **Hello everyone, chapter ten, it took me a long time to get here, too long, the last half of 2016 was a horrible year for me. My girlfriend whom I loved cheated on me with someone I thought I could trust my best friend. I got sick very ill for months I was suffering from extreme exhaustion when I slept I wasn't getting any energy from it, and it burned me out. I just couldn't do anything from working to school to writing, I had to stop one of those things to be able to keep up, and it had to be this, but now I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere I'm going to give you a story to remember. A story filled with heartbreak, darkness, evil, a story that shows that every detail of our lives changes us and defines who we become or what we become capable of doing to someone whether it be good or bad, a story that makes you cry, but also makes you laugh or happy at times. A story that makes you really think.**

 **until next time**


	11. To Take Only To Give

Chapter Eleven: To Take Only To Give

Why take only to give back what you have stolen?

* * *

"I don't have time to explain right now I just need you to be safe, so please lock the door, and get your gun," Nick begged.

"O-Okay just gets here soon," Judy replied.

"I love you," Nick said quickly

"I love you too," Judy replied before ending the call.

Judy put her phone into her pocket and went to lock the door, when it was opened and walking in was a black panther with a smirk on his face.

"Hello, you must be Judy, a pleasure to meet you," he said with a grin.

Judy backed up, then turned around and ran, the panther caught her and tossed her into the table knocking it over. She gripped to the ground digging her finger into te hardwood floor, but Darcy grabbed her and dragged hr by one foot while her fingers got cut open leaving eight lines of blood on the ground for nine feet. He picked her up smiling at her before he stuck a needle into her neck, everything became blurry and then, nothing.

* * *

"Good, you're up," Darcy said with a low tone.

"W-What ... where am I, who are you?" Judy asked disoriented by here surroundings.

"Don't worry about, do me a favor and don't worry about what is about to happen," he replied after he finished tying her legs to the chair she was sitting on. "I don't want to hurt you or kill you, in fact, I hate doing both, but sometimes it's necessary to do so," he said standing up and turning his back to Judy.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Judy asked still feeling groggy from the drugs he pumped into her body.

"Right now, I'm going to stick this device into your arm and take some of your blood; then I'm going to cut off one of your fingers and send it along with your blood to the ZPD," he answered completely calm while he prepared to take here blood and finger.

"My husband will find you; he will kill you!" Judy yelled with anger in her eyes.

The Panther chuckled, he turned around and replied while sticking a thick needle like tube into Judy's arm, "Nick won't find you."

Darcy connected a device to the needle and blood began to flow from her arm into it. After ten minutes had gone by, so he took the needle out of er arm and closed the bag at the bottom that was filled with her blood.

"Congratulations you just donated blood," he said with smirk and evil filled eyes.

Darcy stopped Judy's arm from bleeding any further; then he placed the airtight bag on the table in front of him. Then he grabbed a pair of shears out of a black bag.

He walked back over to Judy and looked her in the eyes before he said, "I'm truly sorry for this."

Darcy opened the shears and put Judy's last finger to the left of her left paw in between the blades. He closed them hard and fast onto Judy's finger, cutting it off making her scream in agonizing pain.

Darcy picked up her finger and put in into an air tight bag. He put the blood and the finger into the black bag zipping it up and leaving it on the table.

Darcy wrapped up the wound left by the removal of her finger to stop the bleeding. Then he walked away from here grabbing the duffle bag, opening a door walking out of it closing and locking it behind himself.

Judy began to cry she couldn't hold it back any longer; her strength was gone she felt uneasy and tired. After ten minutes of crying using the only energy she had left, Judy fell asleep.

* * *

"Wake up!" Darcy yelled.

Judy was startled; she opened her eyes still feeling weak to see the black panther standing in front of her.

"Come on," he added.

Judy realized he had untied her; she was able to move, so she asked confused, "What are you doing?"

"I'm letting you go," he replied.

"What, why go through all the trouble of kidnapping me just to let me go a few hours later?" Judy asked.

Darcy chuckled then answered, "My dear girl, you've been missing for much more than a few hours."

"H-How long?" she asked.

"I'd tell you, but what would be the fun in that?' he answered smiling at her. "Now get up!" he added.

Judy stood up almost falling from dizziness, he leaned against the chair and asked, "what have you done to me?"

"Well I took enough of your blood to make you lose consciousness, and I drugged you, don't worry, you will live," he replied.

darcy put a fabric bag over Judy's head, and he picked her up leaving the room with her over his shoulder.

* * *

"Judy, Judy," Nick said while shaking her. "Hey, thank God you're safe," he added pulling her into a hug.

"Nick I ...," Judy said with confusion.

"Shh ... I've got you; he won't ever hurt you again," Nick whispered into her ear. He pulled away from her slightly and yelled, "someone gets me some water!"

"Nick what happened?" she asked still disoriented and unsure where they were.

"You were missing for three days Judy, he had you for three days," Nick replied looking her in the eyes seeing the fear and confusion within them.

One of the cops that Nick had come with him to find Judy ran up to him giving him the bottled water. He opened it and let Judy drink from it.

"Slowly, drink it slowly," he said tipping the bottle ever so slightly so she could drink. "Come on let's get you to the hospital," Nick said picking her up in his arms bringing her to the ambulance that was just only now arriving at the scene.

Nick helped gently placed her on the bed in the back of the ambulance. He got in and stayed by her side the whole time until they got to Zootopia General. Once she was admitted he they gave her a blood transfusion, they used her blood that was put into one of the fringes at the ZPD after they tested it for anything harmful. The doctor managed to reattach Judy's finger for her paw had not yet begun to heal and cover up the wound.

The doctor said, "That she probably would have lost the finger, but because she lacked so much blood, her body didn't try to heal her paw."

They gave her food and cleaned up her fingers that were skinned down at the tips from when she tried to grip the floor of her apartment.

Nick walked into the hospital room with a smile on his face as he asked, "Hey Carrots, how are you feeling?"

"I ... I don't know Nick, I, I ..." she stumbled out.

Nick ran to her and said with a soothing voice, "Hey Judy, Shh ... I'm here; He won't hurt you again, I won't let him near you ever."

Judy cried into Nick's shoulder; she was so confused, still unsure of how it all happened.

"What happened, Nick?" she asked with a sniffle.

"You remember the doctor who treated me back in Bunny Burrow?" Nick asked pulling away from Judy.

"Y-Yeah," she answered.

"well her ex-husband Darcy Davis is the one responsible for the death of Thelonious and Janet, he gave Jason the information that made him believe Thelonious needed to pay for something he didn't do. Judy, he Killed two animals. Both of them were lovers of him, Angela Williams and a detective he worked with, River Johnson. That's why I needed you to be safe," Nick said quickly and with hesitance.

* * *

Three Days Earlier

"Wilde, what is it?" Eric asked over the phone.

"Davis, he killed Doctor Angela Williams and took Judy. Eric, he got her!" Nick replied with a broken tone.

"How long ago did he take her?" Eric asked.

"No more than thirty minutes ago!" Nick replied.

Nick could hear Eric sigh through the phone before he said, "Nick, I'm sorry we just don't have the police to spare to cover an area that big that's only getting bigger. I'll try my best to get as many as I can spare to help you, but Davis is a cop, he will know how to hide from the police. You will need to investigate this; I can maybe get you, one other detective, to help, the rest are dealing with a lot of shit right now. Crime is at an all time high and only getting worse."

"that's it you can't get anyone?" Nick questioned with rage.

"I wish I could do more I just can't; I'm sorry Nick," he added.

Nick hung up the phone; then he threw it across his apartment while he yelled in rage. Nick walked into the living room and picked up his phone which luckily didn't break, for it hit the couch. He sat down on the sofa and stared into nothingness for half an hour knowing he failed, that Judy was gone.

Then Nick heard a squeak in the floor coming from the front entrance, so he grabbed his gun and stood up yelling, "whoever you stop!"

"Detective Nick Wilde, I'm Detective Olivia O'Neil, Chief Short said you needed help with what happened here!" he answered slowly walked around the corner to make eye contact with Nick.

Nick lowered his gun seeing the red furred wolf standing in front of him almost eye level, and he replied, "Uh, y-yes I did ask him to send some help."

"can you tell me what you know?" Olivia asked putting her gun into her holster.

"M-My wife was kidnapped, by a detective, who I guess is no longer a detective named Darcy Davis," Nick replied while he too reholstered his weapon.

"Oh I, I'm sorry I didn't know it was your wife," She replied suddenly feeling sympathy for Nick.

"Yeah ... Detective, can you tell me what you think happened?" Nick asked walking up next to her.

"Well, it looks like there was some sort of struggle, but I would say that ... your wife was thrown into the table knocking it over. It doesn't look like she bumped into it, she was thrown into it, and that is why this leg is broken," The Wolf replied bending down and picking up the broken leg of the table.

Every time she said she was thrown Nick felt like he was being shot and he knew the feeling.

"It looks like, s-she tried to grip the floor, but she's a bunny, she doesn't have claws like me, i-it must have ripped her fingers from the force she put on the ground," Nick struggled to say becoming more uneasy.

"Are you alright I can do this if you feel to much pain doing this," Olivia offered, looking at Nick who was trying to hold back his tears.

Nick was hesitant to let her take over, but he knew it was for the better, so he answered, "Thank you."

Nick walked towards the door going into the hallway leaning against the wall falling back until he was on sitting on the ground. He cried quietly with his face in his knees.

Ten minutes went by, and the small red furred wolf came out of the apartment with her notepad.

She sat down beside Nick and said with a kind smile, "I'm done with the evidence." "We should speak with some of the other tenants maybe they heard something," she suggested.

"It doesn't matter what they heard; we know who did this and even if they did see what direction he went in or the license plate number, Davis would have ditched it by now," he replied with a sniffle.

"We should go back to the ZPD we have to access roadside cameras footage there," Olivia said standing up and extending her paw to Nick.

Nick grabbed it, and she helped pull him up, he followed Olivia to her car, and since he didn't want to drive, Nick went with her.

"let me ask you a question," Nick said while getting into the passenger seat of Olivia's car.

"Okay go," she replied starting the vehicle.

"I've don't remember seeing you ever seeing you at the ZPD. I think I'd remember a red wolf that is almost as small as a fox. So where are you from?" Nick asked pulling his seatbelt on.

Olivia chuckled and replied, "I'm from Tundra Town, I got promoted to detective a week ago, and I was reassigned to precinct one. As for my height, I was the runt of my mothers only litter; Doctors said I wasn't going to make it, but here I am."

"That's funny I was just promoted to detective last week," Nick said while looking out the passenger door window as the car began to move.

"What about your wife, did she get promoted as well?" she asked while looking at the road ahead of her.

"Judy quit last week, please don't ask me why. She has her reasons," Nick replied.

Olivia glanced at him then looked back at the road before she said with sympathy, "I'm sorry to hear that, everyone knows what she did for this city, hell we know what you both did. I'm going to help you find her, and we will find her, okay."

Nick sat up and smiled at the wolf, "thank you, just be safe."

"why?" she asked

Nick's smile faded, and he replied turning away from her again, "The last wolf I met got killed in a dirty bomb planted by Davis. He made it for her; the sick fucker murdered his lover." Nick's tone became louder as he said, "He also killed his ex-wife. Cut off her paws and placed a note with them, then had someone call me so that I would look up the murder in the news so I could see the note. He killed them to fuck with me!"

Olivia looked at him completely overwhelmed with confusion and disgust as to why or how he would do something so horrifying.

"Oh my God, Nick I'm sorry," she said with shock in her voice.

"You don't need to be sorry for the things he did; he will pay for what he has done," Nick replied.

Olivia made her way to the ZPD, she pulled the car into the above parking, and they both got out. They headed to the front entrance, and as they were walking in, Clawhauser saw Nick and gasped.

"Oh my God! Nick, are you okay?" the fat cheetah asked.

"Ben, I can't talk to you right now I'm busy," Nick replied walking right passed the front desk.

Nick and Olivia went up the stairs and but Nick stopped her at the chief's office.

"Stay here I need to speak with Eric," Nick said with a flat voice.

"Okay," she agreed,

Nick opened the door without knocking and shut it behind him.

"Nick, what is it?" Eric asked closing his laptop looking down at him.

Nick jumped onto the chair and up on the desk, looking straight into the lion's eyes, "My wife! Judy is my wife; she saved us, every predator in the world was saved because of her. What do you think would have happened if Bellwether had completed her plan of taking over this city? We wouldn't be here today, something horrible would have happened to us. I asked for officers to search for her, and I got one detective who is as new to the promotion as I am. So when Judy is in trouble, you save her!"

"Nick, I'm sorry, but I can't just send everyone to her rescue. We all have duties, and we can't just all drop what we are doing for one animal regardless of what she did," Eric replied with sympathy for Nick. "now get off my desk," he ordered

Nick complied and dropped down from the desk, he walked over to the door and said one last thing before opening it, "you're right, but my duty is to protect her, no matter what."

Nick walked out and slammed the door shut, giving Olivia a smirk.

"What was that about?" she asked as they started to walk down the hallway.

"It doesn't matter, now come on let's go get the footage," Nick replied while they entered the large room with dozens of desks.

Nick and Olivia walked through the empty room and straight to Olivia's, and they both took a seat in front of her computer. Olivia turned it on and logged into the ZPD database, she navigated to the traffic cam map and selected the camera placed outside of the apartment that Nick and Judy live in.

They both watched as a van with no markings pulled up in front of the building. No one came out of the vehicle for nearly twenty minutes when Darcy suddenly exited the van and went straight to the front door. Nick clicked the fast forward button skipping through nine minutes letting it play at a regular speed when Darcy came out with a Judy over his shoulder. He put her in the back and walked up to the driver side door, but before he got in, Davis looked right into the camera and smiled saying a few words that could be heard.

"What's he saying?" Nick asked quickly.

"When it is time, check the fridge in the break room of the detective department," Olivia said, word for word of what Davis said. she looked at Nick and added, "I can read lips."

"Should we go check the fridge in the break room?" Nick wondered.

They both turned around and looked into the break room glancing over the blinds, watching the fridge.

"Should we?" Olivia asked.

"I will, the last time something was opened that involved him an officer died," Nick replied.

He stood up and walked over to the break room, he opened the door and walked up to the fridge that was beside a counter with a coffee machine. He grabbed the handle and with a quiver in his paw h opened the fridge quickly and to his surprise, there was just food in the refrigerator.

"There is nothing here!" he shouted closing the door. Nick came back to the computer, and he sat back down before saying, "what is he doing?"

"I don't know. Let's just try to follow Davis on the traffic cams," she replied changing the camera to follow him.

"He's not that dumb, Davis would have found a route that wouldn't have traffic cams," Nick said lacking hope in his eyes.

Olivia watched the screen changing cameras every time he would leave one view and enter another. Eventually, the white colored van came to a stop in a rural area in the Canal District, parking beside the entrance to an underground entrance.

"Davis took her into Canal District, he went into the underground," Olivia said pointing at the screen.

"Why would he go in on foot? The road goes lead into that tunnel," Nick questioned.

"Maybe there's an animal he works with living there," she replied.

"If he's meeting someone, do they live on the flooded roads or the dry ones?" Nick asked while he stood up from his chair.

"If he's hiding there, he's probably still there, this was ten minutes ago," Olivia replied with confidence that they had found Davis.

"Hold on. Before we go, we are going to need some things," Nick said with hope in his tone.

Nick and Olivia ran to the elevator and got in taking it to the third floor that had an entire section dedicated to equipment and weapons. Nick unlocked the door with a code he was given to access the room; he opened the door, and the two entered the room.

"Okay, Olivia, you get the breathers, and I'll get the water piercing rounds and the waterproof pistols," Nick ordered pointing to the left side of the room.

Olivia agreed and went to the left; she opened a large box filled with water equipment, she grabbed two breathers each one matching the size of Nick and her. Meanwhile, Nick opened a metal container marked with the words, water resistant weapons. He looked inside, and it was filled with weapons designed to work under water and beside them were bullets that had slits on the sides to be able to move through water with little resistance.

Olivia walked up to Nick, and with a smile showed him the masks that let them breathe underwater, "You ready?"

"Yeah," he replied loading two pistols with the water piercing bullets. he passed one to Olivia and added while he stood up, "Let's go save my wife.

The two went back took it to the ground floor, they left the ZPD and headed for Olivia's car. They got in, and she turned on her sirens so she could get anyone in her way to move.

They reached the entrance to the underground tunnel by nightfall. It led to a dozen streets that were under the water. Half of which were called the flooded because the buildings were built with water resistant memorials and then flooded; the other half were protected by a foot of bulletproof glass to stop water from getting in. All twelve of them connected to the main tunnel and the six that were flooded had an overflow room at the entrance that would either fill with water or drain depending on if you were coming or going.

"The van is still here," Olivia said while stopping the car

"He's down there, let's get this fucker," Nick replied, getting out his gun.

Olivia put the car back into drive and took it into the tunnel. They drove passed two dry roads before they came up to a flooded one.

Olivia glanced through the glass stopping the water from flooding in, and she said lacking hope, "Nick, I don't think he's here."

"Why?" he asked looking out the front window of the car.

He looked where Olivia was, and he saw in a light an opened hatch in the glass overhanging the flooded road.

"He played us," she said looking at Nick who had anger in his eyes.

Nick got out of the car and stood in the middle of the tunnel; he walked up to the glass that separated him from the flooded road, and he yelled in anger as he repeatedly punched the glass knowing it wouldn't break.

Olivia exited her vehicle and ran up to Nick placing her paw on his shoulder while she tried to stop him from hurting himself.

"Nick stop!" she yelled while pulling him away from the wall so he would stop hitting it.

Nick fell to his knees with his paws covered in his own blood; he broke down in front of her tears falling from his face.

"I can't win, how can I? I know nothing about him, and somehow he knows me," Nick questioned while he cried.

Olivia walked around him and bent down in front of his, she looked into the broken eyes of the fox and said, "Nick we may not know where he is, but we do know Judy is still alive and as long as we know that, there's hope."

Nick looked into the red furred wolf, and somehow he knew she was right. That despite all odds she was right, Judy wasn't dead, and until proven otherwise she was alive.

Olivia stood up along with Nick, and she said while looking at his bloody paws, "you didn't break anything, luckily."

"I guess we didn't need the waterproof crap or the breathers," Nick replied.

Olivia smiled then it faded before she said, "Come on, it's getting late, I don't think we are going to find anything else here or anywhere in the dark."

Nick agreed, and they both got back into the car and drove. They stopped at the van and had a look in it, but it was clean, nothing was left in it, they left it there and continued to drive.

Five minutes into the drive, Nick decided to break the silence by asking, "Olivia, how many siblings do you have?"

"Two Brothers, technically they are older than me, but only by a few minutes. They are much larger than me too, even at birth. What about you?" she replied pleasantly.

Nick smiled, then answered, "I'm an only child. My parents never had a lot of money, but they wanted a kid, and they knew it would be next to impossible to have just one, it almost never happens. They wanted one, so they went to a clinic, to have a single egg from my mother fertilized with my father's sperm, and you know back in eighty-four the chances of it working were slim, but it did, and now I'm here."

Olivia looked at Nick with a smile, before she looked back at the road and said without one, "My mother had preeclampsia when she got pregnant they discovered she had it when the time came for her to give birth there were complications. Out of seven three survived and my mother died along with them. The doctor told my father that the two of the babies that survived the birth were most likely going to live, but I wasn't going to because of how small I was, being the runt plus all the complications with the pregnancy. I should have died, but I didn't."

"Well Judy's parents didn't have problems with getting pregnant, they have three hundred kids," Nick added with a chuckle. Nick's smile faded as he said, "It was something me and Judy had begun discussing, but after ..."

"After what?" she asked not knowing what Nick had been going through.

Nick looked at her then back out the window looking up at the city lights in the night sky.

"did, did I say something I wasn't supposed to say?" she asked worried she had upset him.

"N-No, it's just not something I want to talk about," Nick replied with a cold tone.

Silence then arose once again, and it stayed for the remainder of the car ride until they reached the ZPD. The two went back into the ZPD, and they put all the weapons and equipment back where they found them and clean up Nick's paws and bandage them.

While they were heading back to the front entrance, Olivia offered, "Hey, Nick if you don't want to go back to your apartment, you can come back to my place. I-I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, i-it might be odd ..."

"sure," Nick replied without looking at her while they walked through the doors to the ZPD.

"O-Okay, I hope you like the couch, I mean it turns into a bed so," she said slightly embarrassed by what had transpired.

"I can't go back there Olivia, I-I can't, i-it would just be too painful right now," Nick said finally glancing at her while she looked back at him.

The wolf smiled and replied, "I understand, I don't think I could keep myself as calm as you've been, I-I mean you got angry a few times, but who wouldn't. You're good at not letting anyone see that it gets to you."

Nick chuckled as he said, "it's my secret super power."

The two laughed before reaching Olivia's car, they both got in, and she took Nick back to her apartment which was in Tundra Town.

Olivia felt sorry for Nick, but she also felt trust and power in him. To go through something like that would break anyone, most wouldn't even be able to function, but Nick had more determination than anybody she had ever met. He wasn't just about to let some criminal take his wife and get away with it; he was going to take him down and save her even if it killed him. Despite what he told her about the animals being killed because of him, she felt safe being near him, Olivia felt like no one could hurt her.

The two of them quickly ran inside, for it was cold and neither of them was wearing a coat. Nick and Olivia walked up the stairs to the second floor of the apartment building, and the wolf unlocked her door, letting Nick into her home following him in afterward.

Nick looked around the front entrance which led to the living room and kitchen that were only split by the change in the floor, from hardwood to vinyl. The walls were a blueish color that gave the apartment a lively feeling.

"Nice apartment," Nick pointed out while looking around.

"I painted it myself, funny story I dropped some paint on my arm, and I couldn't get it out for like a week. that same week I was going to see my older brother and the whole seven days I was with him he wouldn't stop calling me O'neil the painter," Olivia chuckled out while she wiped her feet of snow.

"Don't worry my nickname for you will be a lot more innovative than that," Nick said with a smirk.

"Will it now, well I can't wait to hear this" she replied smiling back at Nick.

"Yeah, well I can't think of one right now, but don't worry I'm sure it will have something to do with your blue eyes," Nick replied while he walked towards her living room.

The two went into Olivia's living room which had a large TV mounted on the wall directly in front of the sofa. The two of them grabbed the cushions off of the couch, and they pulled out the bed that laid folded inside it. Olivia grabbed Nick a blanket and a pillow from her closet, and she spread it over the bed and put the pillow at the head of the bed.

"There, now you can sleep, I, uh, will be in my room, if you need anything just let me know," Olivia said pointing behind her to the small hall the led to her room.

"Thanks, but I think I will be okay. Besides I don't know how well I'm going to sleep tonight," Nick replied knowing full well that he was ging to have a nightmare and he wouldn't be able to stop it.

"Well still I'm just down the hall," she restated.

Nick sat down on the bed and smiled at the wolf who was clearly embarrassed about a fox she had only ever heard stories about until today. Olivia backed up and almost tripped over her own feet before she turned around and went straight to her bedroom.

Nick's smile had faded before he fell back onto the bed, he stared up at the ceiling for hours before moving again. He took off his dirty, ripped suit leaving only his underwear and undershirt on. Nick left them to the side of the bed, and he laid down flat on it waiting for morning to come, but he couldn't keep his eyes open, and soon he fell asleep.

* * *

"You let her go now!" Nick exclaimed trying to free himself from the chains around him.

"Now why would I do that?" the panther asked with a smirk.

"I'll kill you that's why!" he replied stills struggling to escape.

"well then let's find out," the panther chuckled.

He grabbed Judy and threw her into the wall behind him, then he picked her up by the ears and smiled at her while she screamed out in pain. The Panther grabbed Judy's arm, and he bent it so far back that the bone broke out of her skin

"No!" Nick screamed with tears in his eye. "I'll kill you, you fucker!" he yelled while struggling to get out of the chains the covered his body.

The Panther chuckled under his breath before he dropped Judy and she fell on her broken arm.

"Judy!" he cried out. The large animal put his foot on Judy's head, and Nick begged while he cried, "No no please, I'll do whatever you want, just don't kill her please!"

"You already did," he replied with an evil smile.

The panther pressed down on Judy's head, and she screamed the pressure crushed her head. Then, her skull cracked and his foot hit the ground as her life was taken in an instant.

Nick couldn't watch as Judy was brutally murdered in front of him while he stood there chained up, helpless.

The panther walked up to his and pointed a gun at him and said, "now you die."

Bang!

Nick woke up on the bed in a cold sweat; he was breathing heavily unable to control it. He looked around the room to see he was alone in someone else's living room, after a few minutes Nick remembered where he was. Nick remembered that even though the dream was over, the Nightmare was still here. Nick laid back onto the bed; he curled up into a ball, and he wept.

For hours Nick lay there in bed until the sun rose and lit up the room and he could cry no more. He put back on his dirty suit and him he waited for the wolf to wake.

Olivia came out of her room already dressed in her black jeans and white T-shirt.

She smiled at Nick and asked pleasantly, "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," he lied.

"You want some coffee?" she offered.

"That would be splendid," Nick replied with kind eyes and a smile.

Olivia walked passed Nick, and he got up following her to the kitchen where she clicked a button on a coffee machine that was prefilled with coffee grains. It was hooked up to the water line, so Olivia never had to worry.

"I never finish a full pot, I could always go and buy a machine that does one cup at a time, but I just never get to getting a new coffee maker," Olivia said while she sat down at the small table in the kitchen.

Nick sat down in the chair beside her, and he replied, "I know what you mean, before Judy, I would waste a ton of coffee, but when she showed up we finished got a new machine that made less, and now we finish a pot. Sometimes it just takes someone coming into your life and pushing you to do what needs to be done."

"You love her a lot don't you?" Olivia asked with a kind smile.

Nick chuckled back while he said, "She's my everything, without her I would be nothing."

The coffee finished brewing, and they both had a few cups before they left Olivia's apartment. They both got into her car, and Nick asked Olivia to take him to his apartment so he could change out of his ripped up suit. When they reached the apartment Nick lived in, he went inside and got a change of clothes.

Nick grabbed a pair of navy blue jeans and a black T-shirt. He hooked his holster with his gun to the belt along with his badge. As Nick was leaving the bedroom, he noticed Judy's badge sitting on the night table on her side of the bed. He picked it up and looked at it with a smile Nick kissed it then put it in his pocket before leaving the room, then the apartment.

Nick exited the building and got back into the vehicle with Olivia.

"You copying me?" she asked with a smirk.

"What, no. Why are you copying me?" Nick replied.

"I-I'm ...," Olivia said before stopping herself. "let's just go to the ZPD," she added while ignoring Nicks grin.

Olivia drove to the ZPD as fast as the speed limit would allow and after thirty-five minutes they reached the ZPD. She parked the car in the above ground parking, and she and Nick went inside the ZPD going straight to the second floor where Olivia's desk was. Since it was so early, it being only six twenty AM, there were only a few detectives in the department minding their own business, doing their own work on the many cases they had.

Olivia logged onto the ZPD database, and when she did, there was an email notification.

"who is that from?" Nick asked looking at the notification.

"I don't know," she replied before she clicked on the email.

when she clicked it, a single word loaded.

"Now. what does that mean?" Olivia asked.

Nick turned around and looked into the break room and realized what it meant and who it was from.

"It's Davis," Nick answered becoming agitated.

Nick walked over to the break room and him once again to holds of the handle. He clenched his eyes shut as he opened the fridge door, to have nothing happen, but when Nick opened them, he looked down and saw something that made him walk backward int a chair making him fell over.

Olivia ran to him to see anger and fear in his eyes. She turned around and looked into the fridge, inside was an air tight bag designed for blood filled with it. Beside it was another sealed bag with a finger in it.

"Oh God, is, is that hers?" Olivia asked with a face of despair.

"Y-Yeah, that must be her blood too," Nick replied with shock.

Olivia turned back around and looked at Nick and said with hope, "We don't know that we should get it tested, just to be sure."

Olivia got up and ran out of the break room, she ran to the chief's office knocking on the door, then entering without waiting for a response.

"What is it?" Eric asked looking up from his computer.

"Sir we have a situation, Judy Wilde's blood, and finger ... are in the break room fridge," the shocked wolf replied.

"What, but how? How did Darcy get in without getting noticed?" Eric asked standing up from his chair.

"I-I don't know sir, but I think we should test the blood, because if it is Judy's ... then she's probably ... dead," Olivia replied with a lacking hope in her survival.

Eric followed Olivia to the detective department and into the break room where Nick sat with anger in his eyes.

"Son of a bitch ...," Eric said under his breath. "Nick I'll have the blood tested, it might not be hers. Darcy is trying to destroy your hope in finding Judy," he said while he looked into Nick's eyes that were filling with rage.

"I am going to make him pay for what he's done!" Nick replied staring at the blood in the fridge that he knew belonged to Judy.

Eric had someone from the basement lab take the blood and severed finger. Tests were run on the blood to ensure that it was indeed Judy's. Sadly it was, and for Nick, that meant she was most likely dead and finding her would mean needing a body bag.

For two and a half days, there was nothing, no new leads, planted evidence by Davis himself, Not even a call from him taunting Nick with what he had done.

Then, Nick's phone rang while he sat in the break room.

Nick picked it up and spoke into it, "hello."

"When evil is at your doorstep, who do you blame?" a voice asked.

"W-What?" Nick replied.

"You will blame the ones that do not help. You blame who say nothing else can be done," the voice said before the phone hung up.

"Davis. Davis!" Nick yelled into the phone.

Nick ran over to the only other animal that believed there was hope.

"Nick what is it?" the red wolf asked.

"Davis just called my cell," he answered dropping it on the desk.

"W-What did he say?" Olivia asked.

"He said, "When evil is at your doorstep, who do you blame? I asked him What, and he replied saying, You will blame the ones that do not help. You blame who say nothing else can be done," Nick answered with a confusion of his own.

"What does he mean?" Olivia asked bewildered by his words.

"I don't know," he replied looking at the confused wolf with his own.

Then the phone rang again; Nick looked at it the at Olivia who did the same.

Nick picked it up and answered the call, "Davis what want from me?"

"In time you will know, for you will know when it is time. In thirty seconds there is going to be an anonymous caller tipping off the ZPD about a kidnapped animal matching the species and facial description sent out by the ZPD. Follow it, and you will find your wife," Darcy said before ending the call.

Detective Wilde!" an officer yelled from across the large room. She ran up to him and said, "I just got an anonymous tip saying that there is a bunny matching the description of Judy laying on the ground near the climate wall between Sahara Square and Tundra Town near the Tundra Gate."

Nick grabbed his gun in holster off of Olivia's desk and stuck it in his belt.

He started to walk away when Olivia spoke up, "Nick I'm coming with you."

Nick stopped in his tracks, and he replied not turning around, "The last time someone was with me involving Davis, she died, She's my wife, I'm going alone."

"Nick you're making the same mistake as Bogo!" she shouted.

Nick turned around and replied, "That wasn't his fault! I didn't shoot Jason Gorden, and that got them killed. If Davis is there, I won't be so hesitant."

Olivia looked around to see everyone staring at them she dismissed it and replied, "I'm still coming to whether you like it or not." Then she spoke up looking around the room, "And some of you are going to be back up for us, just in case it's a trap!"

A few of the detectives agreed, and they all left. They each got into their own vehicle excluding Nick who got into Olivia's car with her. One of them called an ambulance to meet them at the Tundra Gate. In total, there were six detectives all going to save Judy, Nick was grateful if Olivia never came to help him, she had hope, one he was losing, and that kept him going.

As they were speeding down the street with their sirens blaring Nick said quickly, but with sincerity, "Thank you Live, I don't know how the past three days would have gone if you didn't keep me going with a hope that I only ever saw in Judy."

Olivia smiled at Nick and replied, "All my life I've had to deal with everyone telling me, I couldn't do what other wolves could because of my size because I was weak. I was bullied all throughout my childhood; my brothers would come to my rescue, and I hated them for it, because even if they didn't realize it, they were doing what everyone else was, thinking I was too small and weak to do things for myself. I always kept this hope that one day I would prove everyone wrong. Then, when I was twenty I became a cop, and three years ago when I heard about Judy being the first Rabbit officer. I gained, even more, hope. Then, when you and her saved everyone from the Nighthowler drug I knew there was nothing I couldn't do if a bunny and a fox were cops. You both won, you're the greatest cops ever. So how can I lose hope when I'm working with you?"

"You're a lot like her you know," Nick replied with a smirk. "I guess that's why I could see that hope in you because there is so much of her in you," he added with kind eyes.

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you, to be honest, you and Judy are kind of my role models, for the past three years I've been striving to do my job better and work harder because of you two," Olivia said with a kind voice.

Nick chuckled and replied, "Thanks, I've never had anyone say I'm their role model."

Soon Nick and Olivia Pulled up to the Tundra Gate along with the other four detectives. They all got out of their vehicles and began to search the area for Judy.

"Wilde!" a rhino shouted from a distance. "I found her!" he added.

Nick ran towards the rhino that was bent down looking at the unconscious bunny laying in the sand.

"Move!" he shouted running up to her falling to his knees in front of her.

Nick picked up Judy in his arms seeing her left paw bandaged because it was the one that the finger was taken from.

"Judy, Judy," Nick said while shaking her. "Hey, thank God you're safe," he added pulling her into a hug.

* * *

 **Hello, I hope you liked the chapter, please live a tasty review for me to read and be sure to follow the story if you haven't already.**

 **Special thanks to one of my readers Olivia O'Neil who let me use her name for the newest character in my story, I hope you like Olivia, Olivia. Sorry for fibbing when I told you about the character in a PM I hope you're not mad.**

 **until next time**


	12. For Things To Move Forward Some Must Die

Chapter Twelve: For Things To Move Forward Some Must Die

Sometimes even we don't know our own pasts.

* * *

"Judy, I don't know what to do. How do I stop someone that knows what I'm going to do next?" Nick asked with tears in his eyes while he held his wife in his arms.

"Nick, who's that?" Judy asked pointing behind him.

Nick looked around to see the small red furred wolf he was grateful for knowing standing in the doorway to the hospital room.

"Hi, uh, I-I'm detective Olivia O'Neil. I helped Nick search for you," Olivia said with a nervous look in her eyes.

Nick wiped his eyes and said while trying to hide the fact that he was crying, "Olivia, Did they find anything?"

"N-No, I don't think they will it was windy if Davis left anything there it's under the sand or blown away," Olivia replied walking into the room coming closer to Nick who was on the bed with Judy in his arms.

"I didn't think they would; anyway Olivia, meet Judy Wilde," Nick replied with a smile.

Judy sat up in Nick's lap, and she extended her right paw to the little wolf, "Hello."

Olivia shook her paw and replied with a smile of excitement, "Hello, it's so nice to finally meet you."

"Is it now?" Judy replied not quite sure what was so exciting about Olivia meeting her.

"Carrots, we are Olivia's role models," Nick said while he softly rubbed Judy's ears with his paws.

"Oh, well that's a first I mean coming from a cop," Judy replied.

"Well, when you do something as incredible as not only saving the whole city but the world from someone that would have destroyed everything. You can't help, but admire them," she quickly said with a smile that she couldn't wipe off her face even if she wanted to.

"Thank you," Judy replied with a gentle smirk.

While they were talking Nick's phone rang, he read the number and knew it was Davis.

He softly moved Judy off of him and stood up answering the call, "Davis, you son of a bitch!"

"Now, now. Language Wilde, you don't speak to your mother with that mouth, do you?" Davis replied with a voice that was clearly filled with evil.

"You listen here when I find you I'm going to make you pay for what you have done!" Nick roared into the phone.

Davis had chuckled before he said, "No you won't, putting me in prison won't stop me or punish me, what is it you always say? I know everyone. Well, Wilde, I know everyone, and there are so many animals that I can call upon to do my bidding. Don't worry even if you were to find out who some of them are you wouldn't be able to get anything out of them because I may know everyone, but no one knows me."

"Why are you doing this Davis, what do you get out of all of this? Why kill animals you love?" Nick asked with anger.

"You know I hate killing, first time I murdered someone I was trying to stop an animal from getting raped. Sometimes killing is necessary for things to move forward some must die. Soon you will understand, but for now, just worry about your wife," Darcy replied ending the call abruptly.

"Nick, what did he want?" Olivia asked.

Nick turned around looking at both Olivia and his worried, tired wife and replied, "I-I don't know, but I do know he isn't done with us yet."

* * *

"Nick, can you get the nurse I'm not feeling too well," Judy whispered to Nick who was laying beside her on the Hospital bed.

Nick sat up and looked at Judy with worry in his eyes while he held her cheek with one paw, "What wrong?"

"It's my head, it just started pounding, I think it's a migraine," Judy replied as she rubbed her forehead before grabbing Nick's paw that was on her cheek.

"Okay," Nick stood up and walked out of the room.

Nick searched for a nurse until he ran into one that was working the night shift. Nick tapped the shoulder of the pine marten facing away from him. She turned around to see Nick standing behind her with a lot of height on her.

"Uh, how may I help you," she asked looking up at Nick's face.

"My wife, she says she's having a migraine, is there anything you can give her to help with the pain?" Nick replied with kind eyes

"Your wife if Mrs. Wilde correct?" the nurse asked.

"Yes, she is," Nick answered.

"There is something I can give her," she replied as she began to walk passed Nick towards the hospital room that Judy was in.

"Thank you, I can't bare to see her in pain," Nick said with relief.

The nurse walked into the hospital room that had only a little light in it, for it was eleven PM. She smiled at Judy who was now sitting on the bed with her paw on her forehead, rubbing it in pain. Nick walked in behind the nurse, and he moved passed her sitting on the bed beside Judy.

"Your husband here says you have a migraine. Do you think you could rate the pain on a scale of one to ten, ten being the most pain you've been in, one being the least?" She asked quickly.

"Six or seven, the last few days have been painful," Judy replied while trying to hold back her discomfort.

The nurse smiled and said with a soothing tone as to not aggravate her migraine anymore, "Well that's understandable, you were kidnapped and almost lost a finger, you very lucky we could save it. Now I'm going to give you some Triptans, this will help with a migraine, typically we don't provide these unless a migraines are repetitive in nature, but under the circumstances, I think it's justified."

"Thank you," Judy replied smiling back at the pine marten.

The nurse walked out of the room, and after a few minutes, she came back with a prescription for Triptans.

"Now I do have to warn you these are a bit pricey," the nurse said while passing the drugs to Judy.

"I'm not worried about that; I can pay for it. My only concern is keeping my Carrots safe and pain-free," Nick replied glancing at Judy with kind eyes.

"Okay it will be on your final bill when you discharge," the nurse said before walking out of the room.

"You're lucky you've still classified a cop you can take advantage of the health care they provide," Nick said to Judy with a smile before he laid down beside her.

Judy turned to Nick and asked with a concerned tone, "Nick."

Nick turned to Judy and asked with worry in his eyes, "Judy what's wrong?"

"Why is this happening to us? what did we ever do to deserve such pain?" She cried out.

Nick pulled her closer into a hug and replied, "We didn't do anything wrong, we haven't done anything wrong. All we have done together is good."

Judy began to cry, and she asked, "W-What if he comes for me again? Nick, I can't go through that again."

Nick wanted to cry as well; they had both gone through so much pain and fear, The nightmares, Nick being shot, losing the chief, innocent lives being taken around Nick, then Judy getting kidnapped by such an evil animal. However, he couldn't cry now, he needed to keep Judy safe, and he needed her to feel safe.

"Shh, I won't let him take you again, I promise you he won't take you from me again," Nick replied looking into Judy's eyes with assurance before kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you, Nick," Judy sobbed out into his shoulder.

"I love you too sweetheart, more than life itself," he replied with a slight sniffle.

Judy cried into Nick's shoulder for another hour before she took the medication for her migraines. Soon she fell asleep, But Nick didn't, he stayed awake the whole night watching his wife, to make sure she slept not caring for himself.

While he laid in bed with Judy in his arms, he thought about what was going to happen next. What was Davis going to do to cause more pain in their lives? Nick felt he needed to keep Judy safe, but if she wasn't a cop how could he be with her all the time to make sure nothing happens? However, if she was still a cop, there's a risk of losing her to Davis while trying to stop him. Nick couldn't find a way to ease his own fear while keeping Judy safe.

* * *

"Hey, Judy ...," Nick whispered. "Carrots," He murmured while he rubbed her cheek.

Judy opened her eyes to see Nick smiling at her.

She smiled back and asked, "Hey are we leaving?"

Nick chuckled and replied, "Sorry not just yet, they want to keep you here for a little longer to make sure you're okay."

"Oh," she said with disappointment.

Nick gave Judy a kiss on the forehead, then asked, "How's your head?"

"It doesn't hurt right now, but that could change," Judy replied as she sat up in the hospital bed.

"Well at least you're okay for now," he replied smiling at her before giving her another kiss. Then, Nick dropped off the bed and added with a slightly louder tone, "I need to go to work if you need anything just call me and I'll come running."

"O-Okay," she replied. Nick started to walk out, but before he made it to the door Judy spoke up, "Nick!"

Nick turned around and smiled asking, "Yes sweetheart?"

"I love you," she said calmly with a smile.

Nick chuckled and replied, "I love you too Carrots."

Then Nick left the room, and he made his way to the elevator. He got in and took it down to the first floor; Nick walked out of the lift going straight out of the hospital.

He chuckled to himself remembering that his car was still in front of his and Judy's apartment, so he called a cab and had the driver take him to his apartment complex. Once he was there, he paid the driver, and he left.

Nick got into his car and drove it to the ZPD where he parked it where he and Judy always parked it, in the underground. He got out and made his way to the elevator where he got in, and it took him to the detective department. The very moment the doors opened noise filled the lift, noise from dozens of investigators trying to get things done, most being completely overwhelmed with cases that were taking up too much time to complete, mostly because of all the paperwork involved with filing a case report.

All the paperwork reminded him of the bet he lost with Judy, that he was supposed to do all her paperwork for a week.

"I guess that's not happening anymore," He thought to himself.

"Nick, come here!" Olivia yelled from across the room.

Nick smiled and walked over to the red wolf who was working on finding Davis.

"Did you find something?" Nick asked walking up to her desk.

"No, but I need you to file this report," she replied passing him a binder filled with paper.

"You're making me do paperwork? How could you?" Nick replied with forced shock.

"Well look you have a desk now," Olivia said pointing beside her desk. "now you can do all the paperwork you need to," she chuckled out.

Nick looked at the desk; it was the same size as Olivia's it had a computer on it waiting to be logged onto.

"Well I guess Eric can take that back because I hate paperwork," Nick replied walking over to the desk dropping the binder on it.

"Or you can suck it up and file the report on what we've been doing the past four days," Olivia demanded with a slight smirk.

Nick rolled his eyes and replied with a pouty tone, "Fine."

He sat down in his chair then he opened up the file, Nick grabbed a pencil from Olivia's desk, and he began to write on the sheet of paper that had a few things printed onto it to make it go faster when writing a report.

While he was writing, Olivia spoke up asking, "So, how's Judy?"

"She's doing okay under the circumstances; She had a migraine last night; thewy gave her some medication for it. Hopefully, it doesn't happen again," Nick replied while he wrote down how they found out Davis was going to the Canal District.

"What about her paws?" She asked.

Nick put down his pencil and replied looking at Olivia, "Well the one finger they reattached onto his left paw seems to be healing and working she can feel it when it's touched. Judy's other fingers are pretty messed up; she lost a lot of skin when ... when trying to hold her grip on the floor, but they will be okay once they heal."

Olivia dropped her pen and said with frustration, "I just wish I could do something for her, you know. I mean I fell helpless, we didn't even find her, Davis told us where to find her. I don't understand why he's doing all this and I can't stand that we can't find him."

"You and me both Live, but we will stop him. I promised Judy he would be arrested, and I intend to keep that promise," He replied with a stern look in his eyes, for he understood the frustration his was having. "come on let's finished this tedious paperwork and get back to finding that SOB," Nick added with a grin.

The two detectives quickly finished the reports on the last four days; then they went on to search for anything that could lead them to Davis. Sadly they could, for hours they searched through the ZPD database looking for unsolved crimes that could have been committed by him, but nothing. Nick even searched his file they had in the database, but still nothing.

Nick wanted to punch his computer, but it was new, and he wanted to try and keep himself collected, something he had almost forgotten how to do with all that has happened to him and Judy.

Even Olivia was beginning to lose it, not being able to find anything to help locate Davis was starting to make her want to throw her computer screen.

"This is ridiculous, how can he not be on any of the traffic cams in the city, there are thousands of them!" Olivia exclaimed with anger.

"Because he doesn't want to be found, at least not yet. I'm beginning to realize that this is pointless, he will show up when something bad is about to happen because he's responsible for it," Nick answered, before turning off his computer.

"No one is that good; he must have slipped up at some point; everyone does," She said with frustration.

"Look we could sit here until midnight, and we wouldn't find anything. we could go and look at all the crime scenes from the horrible things Davis did, and we wouldn't find anything, Darcy Davis is not going to be found," Nick said lacking hope that they were ever going to find him.

"Then what do we do?" She asked before sitting back giving up on the search for anything.

Nick sat up and leaned towards Olivia, and he replied, "We wait, and he will show up, but instead of him manipulating us, we play him."

"But how? We have no Idea what he's planning next or when he's planning it," She questioned.

Nick chuckled and answered, "my sweet, sweet wolf, have you never heard of the amazing con artist? Me!"

"Uh, what?" she replied baffled by Nick.

Nick stood up and said with a smirk and glamorous tone, "Well let me tell you before I was the greatest cop of all time, I was the greatest con artist of all time."

"Is that so?" She asked smiling back at him.

Nick pulled Olivia's chair away from her desk while she was in it and he said while leaning forward, "Mhm, a little more than three years ago I was hustling away, and Judy ran into me, I just had to con her, and I did. Little did I know she was going to basically blackmail me into helping her, and how it was the best thing that ever happened to me." Nick let go of the chair, and he added with a calmer voice, "If I never met Judy lots of good things would have never happened, such as the stopping of the Nighthowler drug, or me falling in love with the most wonderful bunny on this earth."

"Wait you were a criminal before being a cop?" Olivia asked surprised by Nick's past.

Nick leaned aginst Olivia's desk and replied with a grin, "Yes, but I never committed crimes that hurt someone. You see whenever I conned someone they truly they were helping me, and in many cases, animals believed they were the ones who hustled me when in turn it was me who was hustling them." Nick walked over to his chair in sat back down before he added, "However, I changed when Judy ran into me, and after I had helped her save the world, the government liberated me in a way from all the things I did."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Olivia muttered.

Nick looked down at his own feet then back up at Olivia, and he said, "Not many know and listen I know it might shatter your belief about who I am, but who you see in front of you is me. Many animals have dark pasts, me most of all, but you must understand that only two things in this world cause change, Pain, and love, Judy loves me and that changed me, I care again, I feel again, and that makes a better fox."

Olivia looked to Nick, and she saw honesty in him, that despite what she just learned about him, Nick was not who he used to be, that he wasn't who he was three years ago.

The wolf smiled and replied, "I never doubted that for a second."

Nick smiled subtly before changing his tone to a more lively one, "Now about beating Davis."

"You think you can outplay him," Olivia replied standing up from her seat.

Nick followed suit by again getting out of his chair while he said, "Yes I do think I can stop Davis by outsmarting him. However, we have to wait for him to show up because we are not going to find him like this, it's just a waste of time."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" She asked curiously.

"We do what detectives are meant to do, we investigate other crimes and solve them," he replied while he grabbed his jacket from his chair. Nick looked at the time and added, "Me, however, I'm going to go see my wife."

Olivia looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was six thirty PM, then she replied with some surprise, "Oh wow, I didn't realize it was that late, I guess that's why there's no one else here."

"See you tomorrow Live," Nick said with a smile as he walked towards the elevator.

Olivia looked ahead of her to see Nick walked away from her.

"Wait for me!" she yelled before quickly grabbing her things and running up to Nick who was about to enter the lift. Olivia smiled at Nick and said, "I didn't want to wait for it to come back up after taking you down."

Nick clicked the button, and the lift began to move down as he said, "You know it could be days, or weeks before Davis pops up, and there would be no reason for him not doing anything other than to mess with me. So enjoy the only sense of normal you are going to have for a long time."

"What about you, is there going to be normal for you?" she asked looking at him with curious eyes.

Nick turned to Olivia and replied, "Live, normal was thrown out the window for me weeks ago."

The lift dinged, and the doors opened letting the two detectives out, they said their final goodbyes for the day and went their separate ways to their cars, Nick still having the patrol vehicle for him and Judy. Unlike when he was a patrol officer Nick could be called into work at all hours of the night and would need a quick way of getting to any location desired. So until he was able to get himself a car or the department got him one, Nick would have to take the patrol vehicle home and into work.

Nick got into the car and turned it on, he pulled out of the parking space and drove up the ramp to get out of the underground. He was driving for nearly ten minutes before coming up to the ZGH; he paid for parking then got out of his vehicle locking it before walking towards the entrance to the hospital.

Nick made his way to the front desk in the main lobby where he smiled at the buck sitting in the chair in front of a computer, "Hello, I'm here to see my wife, Judy Wilde.

The deer looked up and smiled before she said, "Okay let me see here."

She opened the hospital manifest and searched the name in the search bar provided.

She smiled then before speaking she gave Nick a visitor card, "You need me to tell you where she is?"

"Nope, I was here last night," Nick replied with a smirk before he walked away.

He waited for the lift, and when it came, he got on and took it to the floor with Judy on it. Nick walked down the hall for about a hundred feet before he came up to Judy's room.

Nick put on a big grin and walked in saying, "Hey carrots."

Nick noticed the lights were off and Judy was laying on the bed with her right paw on her forehead.

Judy turned to him and asked beggingly, "Please don't yell, my head is killing me."

"I'm sorry," he replied with sympathy. Nick walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge before he began to run his paw down the side of her face reaching the end and starting over again, "another migraine?"

"Y-Yeah, I took the medication, but it did little help," She replied groaning slightly, for when she talked her head only hurt more.

Nick placed his finger on Judy's lips before he whispered, "Shh, don't speak, I'll go get someone to see if they can figure out why you have these migraines."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead before he got up and left the room. Nick looked around trying to find a nurse or doctor who could help him. He walked up the hallway when he saw a lemur leaving a room.

"Excuse me!" Nick shouted from fifteen feet away.

The lemur turned around to see Nick walking up to him, he smiled and asked, "Good evening sir, how may I help you?"

"Last night one of the nurses gave my wife Triptans for a migraine, she's got another one, but the meds are not helping her," Nick replied quickly.

"Okay, sir, what is the reason for your wife being here?" he asked.

Nick looked at the nurse and replied with hesitance, "Uh, she uh, had her blood drained and ... her finger cut off, they managed to save it, and her blood was preserved, so we were able to use it for a transfusion."

"Okay what room is she in?" he asked calmly.

"It's just down the hall," Nick answered before turned around and had the nurse follow him.

The two came into the dark room, and the nurse only turned up the like slightly so he could see.

He smiled at Judy ignoring the fact that she was a bunny and Nick was a fox, and he asked, "Hello, I'm Allen, can you tell me how bad it is?"

Judy tried to sit up but when she did the pain became too unbearable, and she laid back down holding her forehead as she groaned in pain.

"Well, I think that gives me an answer, and you said she's already taken Triptans?" the nurse asked turning to Nick.

"Uh, yes, can you give her something else for the pain? Something stronger," Nick begged.

Allen looked to Nick then Judy as he said, "I could, but I think there is something else wrong here, typically Triptans stop them within ten minutes of taking them, she's been in low light. I think I should get your doctor; he will have a look and decide what to do once he's figured out what's wrong."

"O-Okay," Nick said disappointed that Judy wasn't getting anything to help with the constant beating of her head.

The nurse smiled then walked out turning the light out before he closed the door leaving it open only a crack.

"He's going to get our doctor, okay," Nick murmured before walking up to

"good," Judy whimpered out.

Nick again began to stroke the side of her face with the back of his paw. The whole time they were waiting for the doctor to show up Nick didn't speak.

Then the door opened and in came a hyrax who was their doctor.

"You seem to be having migraines," he muttered out.

"Yes she is and the Triptans one of the nurses gave her isn't working," Nick replied with a soft voice.

The doctor sighed, then he answered quickly but quietly, "Look, to be honest, we don't really know why animals just start having migraines, but we do believe it's got something to do with abnormal brain activity. Judy was in a situation no one should ever have to be in, having a finger severed and blood drained from her body while being on anti-stimulants. All I can tell you is that this situation caused them to start and I can't medically say when they are going to stop because I don't know. However, this is a medication called Propranolol, it helps prevent future migraines, but you will have to sit this one out because it doesn't relieve pain."

"Thank you," Judy said with a smile.

"Your welcome, but you shouldn't talk it will only cause further pain," the doctor replied before leaving the room.

"Don't worry Carrots, you will be okay," Nick said with a smile before he picked up her right paw and kissed the pad in the middle.

Five minutes past and the doctor came back with two prescriptions, one for a refillable bottle of Triptans and the other for a refillable bottle of Propranolol. He gave Nick the two bottles with the receipts which he would need to be able to go and refill the bottles when they were empty. The doctor left turning the light out and closing the door. Nick set the drugs on the small night table beside the hospital bed.

Nick laid down on the bed beside Judy; she pulled up close to him feeling his embrace.

Despite the pain, it would cause Judy spoke up and said, "I love you, Nick."

"Nick kissed Judy on the head and replied, " I love you too Judy, everything is going to be okay."

Nick said this, not knowing if it were true, hoping it was.

Judy fell asleep, and Nick wanted to, but he knew if he did it wold wake Judy and him didn't want her to deal with his problems while she was going through her own. He didn't sleep the whole night, despite how he tired he was, Nick's eyes never shut.

* * *

Judy moved subtly in Nick's arms as she slowly woke up to see Nick smiling at her, her head no longer pounding.

"You ready to go home Carrots?" Nick asked with a soothing voice.

"please, I don't like hospitals," she chuckled. "My migraine is gone," she added more lively than the night before.

"Well that's good, you should take one of those pills, the doctor did say it would prevent future migraines," Nick replied before releasing Judy from his arms.

Judy sat up and grabbed the bottle of Propranolol. On the bottle, it said to take one when waking up and when going to sleep. So, Judy popped the lid and took one pill out closing the bottle before getting up and going to the bathroom. Judy turned on the tap and drank some water with the pill in her mouth, and she swallowed the pill with the water.

Judy walked out of the bathroom when she said, "Let's get out of here."

"You're going to need to change before we leave, I got you a change of clothes they're in the drawer," Nick said pointing to the night table.

Judy walked over and opened the drawer and grabbed the clothes. There was a pair of loose skinny jeans and a plead shirt, along with a clean pair of undergarments. Since the door to the hospital room was closed, Judy changed in front of Nick not caring about being seen naked in front of him.

"Judy, are you putting on a show for me?" Nick grinned.

"You wish," Judy replied while pulling up her clean panties.

"Oh I do more than wish for things," Nick added walking up to his wife who was pulling up her pants.

"Oh really?" she replied with forced curiosity.

Nick grabbed Judy's shoulders and grinned before saying, "I get what I wish for."

Nick pulled Judy into a kiss before letting her go.

"Maybe later, like millions of years from now, maybe then I will put on a show for you," Judy replied pulling her shirt over the top of her head down onto her body.

"Aw come on," Nick begged.

"You're such a child," Judy chuckled.

"Really, would a child be asking for his wife to do a strip tease?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"No, but it's not happening, yet," she replied winking her left eye.

"Oh my god you're killing me Carrots!" Nick laughed out.

The two walked out of the hospital room with Judy's dirty clothes in a fabric bag and the prescriptions in a plastic one. Nick signed for Judy's release from the hospital, Then Judy signed herself out. They took the elevator to the first floor, Nick and Judy left the hospital going straight to the patrol car. They both got in, and Nick turned the key in the ignition making the vehicle come to life. He pulled out of the paid parking lot and onto the road.

While they were driving Nick yawned, Judy noticed Him do this, and she asked, "Nick, did you sleep last night?"

Nick didn't know how to answer he didn't want to lie to Judy, but he didn't want to answer her either.

"Uh, maybe," he replied.

Judy sat up and said wth worry, "So you didn't then. Nick, you promised me you would try to sleep. I know the nightmares are terrifying, but you know what will happen if you don't sleep."

Nick looked to Judy for a split second before he said looking back on the road, "I-I do know what could happen to me if I don't sleep, but what was I supposed to do? I wasn't about to fall asleep then wake you up while you were having a migraine. I don't want my problems to become yours."

Judy placed her left paw on Nick's right one that wasn't holding onto the steering wheel when she said, "Don't you see? Your problems are my problems and mine yours; we are married Nick that's kind of a rule."

"I do know that Judy, I do, I just didn't want to cause you any pain," Nick replied with a quieter voice.

"It's okay, Nick I would have been fine helping you if yu had a nightmare. I want to understand what it is you're going through," she said with a smile of sympathy.

Nick sighed then he said, "I want you to understand what I'm going through, and I want to understand what you're going through as well."

"Promise me you will come to me regardless of what I'm going through," Judy begged.

Nick glanced at Judy who was still holding his paw; he smiled for a few seconds before he said, "I promise I will Judy."

A few more minutes went by then Nick reached the street that his and Judy's apartment was on. He pulled up tot eh side of the apartment complex and parked the car in the small twelve car parking lot beside the building. The two of them got out and went inside walking up the stairs and for the first time in nearly a week Judy went inside their home.

The table was still tipped over with one of the legs broken the scratches from Judy's fingers still on the hardwood floor with dry blood on them.

Immediately Judy began to have a flashback to the moment she was taken, and her heart began to race. Nick saw her at a stand still as her body began to tremble, he went up to her and hugged her.

"It's okay Judy, he's not going to get to you again," Nick whispered into her ear.

"I-I know, i-it's just hard being back here with it still being in this condition," Judy replied with a tremble in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I never thought to clean it up, I should have, I'm sorry," Nick said with empathy.

"It's not your fault Nick, can we just not be in the kitchen?" Judy asked.

"Come on let's go to the living room," Nick offered as he stood up straight.

Nick and Judy went into the living room, and they sat down on the couch. After ten minutes or so, Nick went into the kitchen to clean up the mess, he disassembled the broken table and put it outside by the door to their apartment. He cleaned up the scratches on the floor as best he could, but they would always be there until the floor was changed. Nick cleaned up anything else that was on the ground or broken by the struggle; then he took all the broken things he had out into a garbage bag and him throw them down the trash shoot. The table, however, Nick carried down in pieces to the large bin placed at the end of the shoot.

Nick went back to the apartment and closed the door behind him going back into the living room to see Judy wasn't in it. He walked to his room, and she was on the bed.

"Judy, you okay?" Nick asked while looking at her with worried eyes.

"N-No I-I got another migraine," she replied looking up at him.

"Do you want a Triptan?" Nick asked with a softer tone.

"I took one already," Judy replied holding her head in pain.

"How bad is this one?" he asked still worried for his wife.

"Not as bad as the one from last night, but it's still pretty painful," she replied while she tried to sit up.

Nick went to speak, but his phone rang stopping him from doing so.

He left the room and answered the call, "Olivia what is it?"

"Davis, traffic cams picked him up two streets down from your apartment. Are you there?" she asked quickly.

"Y-Yes, Live what street is he on?" Nick asked in return.

"Artemesia. Nick don't confront him until I get there with back up," Olivia demanded.

Nick ended the call, he went back to the bedroom and said, "Judy I have to go."

"W-Why?" she questioned.

"I have to stop Davis," he replied before closing the door.

Nick grabbed the overcoat to his brownish suit one he purchased a few days ago to replace his ripped up one. He grabbed his gun and holster and attached it to the right side of his belt. Nick ran out the front door and raced to his car. He got in and drove it up the road until he came to a sign that said Artemesia ST, Nick got out of the car and ran down the sidewalk while he was running his arm got stuck in a pipe near an alleyway. He pulled his arm away from the pipe ripping hid left sleeve in two places.

Nick looked at his arm then while he face was down he noticed a shadow. He looked up and about ten feet away from him was a black panther wearing a tailored suit with a red tie. It was Davis; he was leaning aginst the wall with a smirk on his face.

Nick pulled his gun out with his left paw.

Davis had chuckled before he said, "Don't worry Nick I'm not here to kill you or hurt your wife."

Nick had anger in his emerald eyes he pointed his gun at Davis and yelled, "Don't move Davis!"

"You're not going to kill me because you can't," the panther said with evil in his blue eyes.

"You don't know what I'm capable of," Nick replied enraged by the Panthers presence.

Davis pulled away from the wall and walked towards Nick a few feet before he said, "Oh but I do. Remember how I said I know everyone? That includes you, Nick.

"I said Don't move!" Nick exclaimed pointing his gun right at the Panthers head.

Davis chuckled and said while slowly walking forward, "I know everything about you, I know that when you were eight years old, you were tormented by a bunch of kids because you were a predator trying to join the ranger scouts. I know that when you were sixteen both your parents were killed."

"You're wrong about my parents, my mother committed suicide," Nick replied still holding his gun at Davis.

"Am I? Tell me, do you know who investigated the death of your parents?"

"W-What?" Nick questioned.

"Do you know who the detective was? Who asked you questions when your father was hit by that truck?" he asked.

Nick thought, and he remembered, he remembered the panther who had evil in his eyes, the darkness that spread from him.

"Y-You, you killed my father didn't you?" Nick yelled.

Davis came within two feet of Nick before stopping, and he said completely calm, "it was an accident, but it was me yes. Unfortunately, your mother wouldn't give it up; she became consumed with finding the animal who killed him, and she did. I couldn't be discovered I had no choice, she had to die."

Nick didn't know what to believe he wanted to shoot Davis, but before he could do anything dozens of police cars surrounded the alley.

"Davis get down!" Olivia yelled while pulling out her gun. "Get down on the ground now!" she exclaimed.

Davis chuckled and did as she demanded, he got down on his knees and put his paws behind his head. Olivia cuffed him, and a larger cop put him in the back of a patrol car.

"Nick I thought I told you not to confront him," Olivia said with relief that Nick was okay, yet he wasn't.

"He said he killed my parents," Nick spoke out.

Olivia looked at him with shock, and she replied, "Nick he was only saying that to mess with you."

"No, I remember him, when I sixteen he was the one who asked me questions about the hit and run that killed my father, he was there, Davis covered up the crime," Nick said while he walked away from the alley.

"I'll confirm it when I get back to the ZPD," Olivia replied walking in the other direction to her car.

Nick walked down the street and got back into his patrol car that was still on. He got in and drove it back home where he again left it on before going to his and Judy's apartment. Nick walked in and went to his bedroom to see Judy was sitting on the bed waiting for Nick to return.

"Judy," Nick whispered.

"D-Did you stop him?" she asked with hope.

"Yes honey we did, he's going to jail for a long time," Nick replied with a smile.

Nick walked up to Judy, and he hugged her.

Judy hugged him back and said with passion, "I love you, Nick."

"I love you too Carrots," Nick replied with ease in his tone, feeling a sense of relief, something that was quickly going to turn to anger when he talked to Davis about what he claims to have done. "I have to go to the ZPD, I'll be back soon," Nick added letting go of his wife.

"O-Okay," Judy replied.

Nick smiled again and gave her a kiss before leaving the room.

* * *

"I know you wouldn't have been caught if you didn't want to be, so I'm going to ask you again. Why let yourself be got?" Olivia asked Davis who was sitting across from her at the other side of the metal table in the interrogation room.

"I will only speak with Wilde," he replied repeating himself for the third time.

Olivia stood up, grabbed the file she had with her and walked out of the room closing the door and locking it behind her.

"He will only talk to Nick," Olivia aid to Eric who was coming out of the room behind the one-way glass.

"Where is he? get ahold of him and tell him to get his ass over here!" Eric said with annoyance.

"He went home to tell his wife we stopped the animal that kidnapped her. So give him a break!" Olivia replied giving Eric a dirty look.

The small wolf went to walk away when Eric yelled, "Hey!" She turned around, and Eric walked up to her and said with an order, "You don't have to like what I asked you to do, but if you ever raise your voice at me, I will have you demoted back to patrol officer. I'm your superior! Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Olivia replied holding back her anger.

"Now find Wilde," Eric ordered.

"Yes Sir," she replied.

Eric walked away leaving Olivia standing there. Olivia threw a punch, but she stopped herself from hitting the wall half an inch away from it. She calmed herself then pulled out her phone to call Nick.

Olivia put the phone to her ear while the phone rang.

"Hey Live, I'm on my way, I'll be there in five minutes," Nick said quickly the moment he answered his phone.

"Good, Davis won't talk to anyone, but you," Olivia replied.

"Okay, I'll speak to him," Nick said before hanging up the phone.

Olivia put her phone back into her pocket and walked from the hallway into the detective department. She waited at her desk until Nick came from the elevator.

Nick walked up to her, and he asked, "Where is he?"

Olivia stood up and replied, "interrogation room four." Nick want to walk away, but Olivia stopped him by placing her paw on his arm, "Nick he wasn't lying, he was the one who investigated you father's murder and your mother's suicide, I'm sorry."

Olivia walked back over to long hallway that was connected to the department there were eight interrogation rooms, each one with another room beside it with a window that was a one-way glass.

Nick and Olivia walked up to room four Olivia gave Nick the file, and she went into the listening room.

Nick opened the door to the four interrogation room, and immediately he saw Davis with a smirk on his face. Nick walked up to the chair on his side of the table, he pulled it out and sat down in it before pulled it in. Nick dropped the file with all the information on Davis and what crimes he had committed in the past two weeks.

Nick stared at him for nearly thirty seconds before he said, "My wife has migraines because of you. For the last three days, she's been having unbearable pain because of what you did to her."

Davis smirked and went on to say, "Look, Detective Wilde, you and I are not here to discuss the things did to Judy-"

Nick stood up from his chair and punched the table before he yelled, "You don't get to say her name, you don't get to say anything about her or even think about her!"

Davis had chuckled before he replied, "Okay I won't, now the real reason you're here."

Nick sat back down and asked, "Why did you let yourself get taken in?"

"Well I think that one is obvious, I'm not staying here for much longer," Davis replied leaning back in his chair becoming eye level with Nick.

Nick chuckled as he said, "Oh you're not going anywhere until I'm done with you."

"Well that's where you're wrong because I think I will be out of here by the end of the day at the most," Davis replied with a smile filled with evil.

Nick leaned forward and asked, "Is that so, tell me why would the ZPD let you go, hell why would I let you go?"

Davis had smiled before he said calmly at ease with himself, "because if you don"t, tens of thousands will die."

* * *

 **Hello, I hope you liked the chapter it took me a little longer than I thought. I had to redo part of it because it wasn't going where it needed to.** **Be sure to leave a tasty review letting me know what you think.**

 **Anyway, I just wanted to point out that I did as much research as I could for the information involving the medication Judy is taking. I'm only saying this because I don't know a lot about drugs, so if I got something wrong with them, please let me know.**

 **One last thing if not the most important, the cover art for this story that you now see was done for me by a girl who goes by the name Spamjamz on Tumblr. I think she did an amazing job on the artwork and I thank her for it. Now if you go back to chapter one there is a note saying thanks to her, this one is just for those of you who are not going to see it in the first chapter.**

 **Until next time**


	13. Unsteady

Chapter Thirteen: Unsteady

Having a control of one's emotions is the hardest battle anyone can face. Hiding all emotions will lead to one's own destruction, but having no control will give rise to the same.

* * *

"What do you mean thousands will die?" Nick asked slightly confused by Davis' answer.

Davis gave Nick a look of pure sincerity as he said, "Well it's simple really, you don't let me go a bomb will go off every twenty minutes killing hundreds of animals, and with every explosion, the next will be worse with an even higher casualty rate."

"You're bluffing, you're evil but that evil," Nick replied still doubting what Davis claims are going to happen.

The Panther smirked before crossing his arms and looking up at the clock, "I'd say you will find out if I'm bluffing or not in the next ten minutes."

Nick turned to look at the clock seeing that the time was twelve fifty PM. Then he looked a the mirror on the wall, and Olivia who was on the other side looked back through it. Nick stood up and walked out of the room Olivia doing the same meeting him in the hallway.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Olivia asked looking at Nick with worry.

"I don't know, I guess we will find out in nine minutes," Nick replied giving Olivia the same worried look she was giving him. "I'll get the chief you put together a team just in case he's telling the truth," Nick added quickly while the two detectives began walking towards their department.

Olivia agreed and went on to gather officers to be a team to help with crowd control if there is an explosion in the city. Nick went to the chief's office to get him.

He knocked on the door and waited for Eric to say, "Come in!"

Nick opened the door, and said the moment he entered the office, "Davis claims to have a bomb set to go off in less than ten minutes."

"What?" Eric questioned With surprise.

"I told me that I have to let him go or hundreds are going to die," Nick replied looking up at Eric who had anger in his face.

Eric got up from his seat and walked passed Nick; he marched through the detective department and into the hallway branching off of it. Eric walked up to the interrogation room he opened the door slamming it shut giving Davis an angry look.

"You son of Bitch!" He yelled before laying a bunch on the panther's face. "Is there a bomb?" Eric asked.

Davis had chuckled before he spat out blood onto the floor, "Like I told Detective Wilde if I'm not let go within the next four minutes hundreds are going to die."

Nick caught up with Eric, and he opened the door saying, "Eric! He's not lying; we have to let him go."

"Thank you, Nick, for seeing my point of view," Davis spoke out with a grin on his face.

"No, he's lying," Eric replied while looking down at the panther.

"I guess we will find out in three minutes, how fun," Davis said with a smile.

Soon three minutes became two, then one, when finally the clock changed to one PM. Nick, Olivia, Eric, and dozens more waited until calls came rolling in that there had been an explosion in downtown Zootopia on the corner of Second and Third ST.

Nick gave Eric an angered look both of them knowing he was wrong.

"Sir we've got images coming in from the news," one of the detectives said before turning his large computer screen so everyone could see the aftermath of the bomb.

"That intersection is one of the busiest places in the city," Olivia said with disbelief.

The intersection was gone, the street below dozens of cars had collapsed into the sewers under the roads. One of the buildings on the corner one on the verge of falling, the structural integrity of the forty-story building was damaged severely.

Nick walked over to the chief and said to him with anger in his voice, "Eric, Davis said there is more than one bomb after one goes off we have twenty minutes to let him go, or another one will kill even more animals."

Eric gave Nick a concerned look. However, he was sure there was only one bomb and wasn't going to let the animal that killed hs best friend get away.

"He didn't have time to set up more than one bomb, I'm sure of it," Eric replied with anger.

As Eric began to walk away, Nick shouted, "Don't let your feelings control this decision!"

Eric left going back to his office.

"Nick I got my team!" Olivia yelled from the elevator.

Nick ran over to her and said once he was in front of her, "Okay, get the situation down there under control."

"Okay, hey what are we going to do with Davis?" She asked.

"Eric doesn't think he has more than the one bomb he just used and isn't willing to give him up, but I know he does," Nick replied with a calmer tone one that was had to acquire.

"We need to release him, or a lot more are going to die, hell we are lucky the building that was damaged by the blast hasn't fallen," Olivia said quickly and quietly.

"Well let's hope it doesn't fall, but in case evacuate the area. Now go," Nick said clicking the down button on the elevator.

The doors closed and took Olivia to the first floor where she met up with the two dozen cops she needed for crowd control.

Nick, however, went back into the interrogation room to speak with Davis. When he opened the door, the panther was sitting with his feet on the table. Nick sat down in the chair on his side of the table, and he looked the Panther with hatred for him.

"Who are you?" Nick asked suddenly.

The Panther smiled and replied, "Well my name is Darcy Davis I am now a former ZPD detective who is waiting to get released from custody."

"You know what I mean Davis. why do the things you do?" Nick asked with a collect tone.

Davis removed his feet from the table and sat up straight in his chair before he said, "I am what you think I am."

Nick leaned forward and asked, "And what do I think I believe you to be?"

Davis looked Nick in the eyes while he spoke, "Right now you don't know what to think of me. All that is going through your head is that I'm some psychopath on a rampage. You're wrong Wilde, I am much more, and one day you will see that."

"All I see in you is a killer," Nick said with a flat voice not letting his unsteady emotions out.

"You know what interests me?" Davis asked. "I just told you less than an hour ago that I killed your parents, and you're not asking anything about that or wanting to harm me," He added.

"If you really understood me you would know why I'm not asking about them," Nick implied.

Davis had chuckled before he replied, "Alright you want me to tell you the answer? You won't ask me any questions about it, not even a why I did it. You won't asked these questions for one reason and one reason only. You think by ignoring something as bad as this will help you manipulate me, but you're wrong because, Nick Wilde, I know you."

Nick was damned if he was going get beaten again, but sadly he just was, Davis knew the one thing he didn't even discuss with anyone.

Davis grinned and said, "Go on ask me. Why did I kill them?"

Nick broke, he saw no reason in not asking, Davis had already won, so he yelled out, "Why! Why did you take my parents from me?" He stood up in his chair and said with pure anger, "Why would you kill the parents of a sixteen-year-old kid?"

"I didn't mean to," Davis replied calmly. "Your father was an accident, I looked away from the road for one second, and there he was. I knew I couldn't stop I'd lose my job, so I covered it up," He added with a serene tone. Davis then said lacking any emotion, "Your mother. However, that was hard for me to do, she became obsessed with finding who had killed her husband, and guess what? She did. I just couldn't stand there and be discovered. Let me tell you killing your mom was hard, I mean just having her face in front of me while she slowly bled out was just disgusting."

Nick wanted nothing more than to beat in darcy's face, but he couldn't.

"Oh come on," Davis chuckled. "you're not even going to hit me? " He added. "Come on hit me," He chuckled out. "Hit me! Do it, take a punch at me!" Davis laughed out.

"Ahhh!" Nick yelled out while he jumped onto the table and he threw a punch into the panther's face.

"Now that is what I call anger!" Davis stated. "You, my friend have got one hell of a punch!" He added.

"Fuck you!" Nick replied with pure anger in his eyes.

"Tic tock tic tock," Davis said looking up at the clock.

Nick turned around and looked at the clock to see he only had five more minutes to let Darcy go or the second bomb would go off. He climbed off the table down onto the chair then to the floor. Nick again left the room, he walked through the detective department and right to the chief's office.

Nick walked in not even knocking while he yelled, "Let him go!"

Eric closed his laptop and replied, "No I'm not about to let one of the most dangerous animals in Zootopia walk out of here."

"Do you think I want to do this? Do you honestly think I want to set free the animals who killed my parents and kidnapped my wife?" Nick questioned with pure rage. "Everything this guy does is to get to me, having Bogo killed killing others around me who are innocent in all this is just to toy with me!" Nick yelled. "I don't want to let him go, but if we don't more animals are going to die, and I can't have that on my conscious," He added calmly.

"Letting him go will only give him what he wants," Eric replied.

"Don't you think I know that?" Nick asked. "But we have to, or we will never be able to live with ourselves, "He added. Nick noticed the time there being only two minutes until the next bomb is to go off, he gave Eric a saddened look before he said, "Thelonius would've have listened to me, now you will put hundreds more on our consciouses."

Nick left the office leaving the door open; he made his way back to the detective department with there only being a minute left before more were set to die. The clock hit one twenty PM, and in the distance, the faint sound of an explosion could be heard. The already busy detectives began to get more phone calls, this time, however, they were for a different explosion. A thirty story office building fell to the ground a bomb destroyed the first floor of the building.

Nick watched the entire room in a panic dozens of animals running around trying to get ahold of the situations. Everything became silent as he watched. For the first time, Nick couldn't understand how someone could be so evil. How someone could do such things without a motive, and if there were one he couldn't find it.

Eric came up behind hind him and said, "Nick." Getting no response, he touched his shoulder saying, Wilde." Nick turned around, and Eric said, "Let him go."

Nick turned away from the lion; he walked passed everyone back into the hallway with the interrogation rooms. Nick went into the one with Davis, and he looked at him with pain in his eyes.

"Please Davis, tell me why you're doing all of this, at least tell me why you have to kill so many?" Nick asked while he pulled out the key to the cuffs.

Davis looked down to him and said lacking humor or any other emotion, "You want to know why I do all the things I do? I do this for you, and you will understand why soon enough, but you will have to wait for now. I truly am sorry for all whom I've killed, but you already know how I can kill so many and justify it."

Nick uncuffed the panther, and the two walked out of the interrogation room. The two entered the detective department and slowly walked through it, while they did this everyone watched knowing that Davis was response able for the death they were all witnessing. Nick took him to the main hallway that led to the stairs, the two walked down and came into the front lobby, they walked passed the front desk wich for some reason didn't have Clawhouser at it. Nick saw this as a good thing for he didn't know how the cheetah would react to the presence of Darcy Davis. The two walked out the front door, and Davis began to walk away.

Before he left for good, he stopped and turned around and said to Nick with a tone filled with ease, "I keep my promises, as soon as I'm far enough away I will call your cell and tell you where the other bombs are."

"I will find you again, I will end this suffering you bring to this city, I won't let you destroy any more lives," Nick replied speaking calmly.

Davis look to his right seeing the smoke from the second explosion before he said, "Yes you will, but here this Wilde, you may end everyone's suffering, but that is when you will lose yourself."

The panther turned away from him and walked away he broke the window to a car and got in turned it on and driving away. Nick went back inside and up to the detective department. He waited fifteen minutes for his phone started to ring.

When it did Nick picked it up and said, "Davis."

"There are no other bombs. I only had time to make two, all you need to do now is focus on cleaning up my mess," Davis said before ending the call.

"Nick where are the other bombs?" Eric asked quickly.

Nick turned around and said with shock, "Ther are no other bombs, he only had two."

"What? Son of a bitch!" Eric had yelled before he punched a computer screen shattering the screen.

Nick ignored the lion's anger while he went back to his office.

Nick climbed onto a large desk and said, "Today is a day that will forever be in our memories, but dwelling on the fact that we had to let the animal responsible for this bombs go isn't going to help those who are suffering. So, let's get to work on saving those in need."

Everyone agreed with Nick listening to his order even though he had only been a detective for nearly a week. They all knew he was right, so another detective made another team of officers to go and help with the aftermath of the second bombing. Nick stayed behind at the ZPD to deal with the situation from there.

Nick went back to the chief's office and this time he knocked and waited for Eric to say, "come in."

Nick opened the door and closed it behind him before he climbed up on the seat and said, "So far the reports are saying at least four hundred dead, and another five hundred injured or missing, the numbers are only climbing. We need to tell the public about Davis we can't keep this from the public any longer."

"I'll speak to the press," Eric replied.

"No," Nick said.

"W-What?" He questioned.

"No you won't," Nick replied. "Eric you were only put in this position because the mayor thought he could use you to gain more votes, he isn't stupid like us Lionheart knew there had to be more than one angry wolf involved with the killing of the Bogos. So, he was hoping that if the others involved were found while you were in power over the ZPD, he could take credit for putting you there and that being the reason the case was solved. The only thing the mayor didn't think of was how weak you are, you can't do this job, your emotions are getting in the way," Nick calmly stated.

"What about your emotions they have gotten in the way of your job just as much as me!" Eric accused.

"No Eric they haven't," Nick replied. "I may have lost my temper a few times this week, but they never stopped me from doing what is right, from staying true to my morals as a cop and as an animal. Eric, you need to hand in your resignation, you have to leave this position because all you are as the chief of police is an emotionally unstable pawn. You may have failed at being the mayor's pawn, but you worked perfectly as Darcy's," Nick said still keeping a calm presence in the room.

Eric wanted to scream at Nick for saying such things, but he knew them to be true. He wasn't fit to be in the position, and he shouldn't have been put in it.

"Then who do you think is going to do this job better than I have?" Eric questioned.

"Anyone who works as a chief of a precinct right now. any one of them deserve the position of chief of police more than you ever did," Nick replied.

Eric knew Nick was right, but he couldn't admit it.

"I understand if you have too much pride to admit this to be true, but don't let it get in the way of doing the right thing," Nick said before getting out of the chair. "I will talk to the press and tell them about Darcy," Nick added.

Eric didn't respond, but Nick knew he agreed, so Nick left his office. He was aware that it was only a matter of time before the reporters showed up, so when they did Nick got behind all the microphones.

All the reporters questioned quickly, "Detective, do you know who is responsible for these attacks? Who did this? Are there more attacks on the way? Have the terrorists contacted the ZPD?"

"Alright, alright, calm down," Nick ordered. "Okay, good. Now to answer all of your questions, There are no terrorists, it is one animal who is responsible for today. His name is Darcy Davis; he's a panther who used to be a detective at the ZPD. We do not yet know his motives behind today or anything else he is responsible for. That is all the information I have to give you," Nick stated with a stern tone.

Nick walked away from the press some of them tried to follow him, but quickly they were stopped by much larger officers.

One of them, however, caught Nick's attention when he yelled,

"Detective Wilde, My sources say your wife, Judy Wilde was kidnapped by this Panther earlier this week before being found, what does she have to say about today?"

Nick stopped in his tracks; he turned around walking over to the reporter, before he answered with a stern almost angered tone, "My wife is none of the new's concern. She isn't to be questioned by any of you, and trust me if I see any of you showing up at my doorstep I will personally arrest you!"

Nick again turned around and left the front lobby heading up the stairs to the detective department. When he got there, Nick went back to dealing with the phone calls that were constantly coming in bombarded, for hours he did this until he couldn't.

Nick got up from his desk, and he went into the hallway leading to the stairs. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Judy's phone number.

It rang twice before Judy Picked it up and said with a relieved tone, "Nick, thank god I wasn't able to reach you all day I saw everything on the news I was about to leave to come and see you at the ZPD."

"Judy, please don't, it's pretty crazy out there, subway stations have been shut down because the second bomb to go off collapse an underground railway. The roads are jammed, I'm going to be here all night you just stay safe," Nick replied quickly.

"Are ... are you going to be alright?" Judy asked worried for her husband.

"Me? I'll be alright; I'm not sure about everyone else, I haven't seen something this bad happen for eighteen years," Nick replied.

"Okay, Nick just be safe, I love you," Judy calmly said.

"I love you too honey, I will," Nick replied before ending the call.

Nick put his phone back n his pocket before he went back to work.

* * *

After countless hours of working with the EMTs and the ZFD, Olivia came back to the ZPD covered in dust and dirt from the bomb site. She made her way up the stairs and into the detective department. She walked up to her desk and sat down beside Nick who looked at her with shock.

"Olivia, are ... are you okay?" He asked placing his paw on her shoulder.

Olivia turned to him with her face covered by soot you couldn't even see her red fur, with tears in her eyes, "N-No I'm not."

Nick got up from his chair he hugged Olivia as she cried out onto his shoulder.

"I-I ... I've n-never seen s-so many b-bodies before, s-so burnt a-and crushed under r-rubble," the Wolf fumbled out.

"Shh, it's okay just breathe Live breathe," Nick said while had held the distraught wolf in his arms. Nick broke away from Olivia, and he asked, "Do you have a change of clothes here?"

"Y-Yeah," she replied.

"Go take a shower in the locker room, it will help, getting all the dirt off will help you calm down," Nick suggested with a smile.

Olivia believed Nick, and she left heading to the locker room to take a shower to wash away the dirt. The wolf went to the elevator and took it up to the third floor wich had the lockers and a training room. She went into the female locker room, and to her surprise, no one was in it. Ever since Olivia started at precinct one, she kept a change of clothes plus a towel in her locker. She undressed slowly undressed herself putting her dirty clothes in her locker taking out the clean ones plus a bottle of shampoo. Olivia left the clean clothes on a bench before she entered one of the showers. She turned it on and waited for the water to become hot before she entered it.

"ah ... that's good," She said as the hot water hit her dry, dirt filled fur.

Immediately the soot started to fall from her body making the water going down the drain turn brown. Olivia took the bottle of shampoo and opened it; she squeezed it making a bunch of soap come out of the bottle more than what she usually used. Olivia covered her body with it rubbing it into her fur until it became bubbly. Then she washed it out, and the water that dripped away with the soap became an even darker brown than before. After ten minutes Olivia got out and used the body dryer before taking the towel to the places that were still wet let the inside of her ears or Her private.

Olivia grabbed her change of clothes and started to out them on. First, she put on her undergarments, before she pulled up her gray pants. She grabbed her belt and pulled it through all the loops on the waist of the pants, Olivia tightened it and put the small metal pin through one of the holes on the belt to keep it in place. She grabbed her light blue shirt and put it over her head befoe pulling it down onto her upper body. Olivia grabbed her spare coat it being made out of synthetic leather.

Olivia loved her leather jackets, but seeing as real leather was something cows didn't like seeing on other animals it was hard to come by and wasn't something you could wear without glares of shame. So synthetic was the way to go.

She grabbed her badge and holster with her gun in it, and she stuck them to her belt before she closed her locker with the dirty clothes and the wet towel in it. As Olivia was about to reach for the doorknob it opened and outside the room was one of the cops she had come with her to the bomb site. She walked around her and walked passed the male locker room which had was the rest of the officers she had brought with her all getting ready to get washed up.

Olivia entered the elevator, and she took it down to the second floor. The doors opened, and she got off the lift going straight to her desk.

Nick was still beside her desk on his own he was talking on the phone with a distraught female who sounded like she was crying.

"Are ... are you sure?" Nick asked the animal on the other end of the line.

As she answered Nick, he looked down at his feet rubbing his forehead with her free paw.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss Mrs. Clawhouser, yes I will miss him too, we all will," Nick replied with empathy in his tone.

Nick ended the phone call before he leaned back and sighed.

"Nick, what happened to Clawhouser?" Olivia asked with worry.

Nick looked at her and replied, "That was his mother, she called to uh ... tell me that the second team found the body of Benjamin Clawhouser in the rubble. She said that he was in the office visiting a friend she doesn't know who, But he was there."

"Oh my god, Nick I ... I'm sorry Nick," Olivia said with a grievance.

"Damn it!" Nick yelled while getting up from his seat.

The some of the detectives looked at him but quickly looked away ignoring his outburst.

I need to go home," Nick murmured.

"I don't think you can drive there Nick, the patrol officers and I could barely make it through all the traffic," Olivia said with sympathy.

"I need to be with my wife, I ... I'm losing my hold my emotions; I need to be with her," Nick insisted.

"Just give it some more time, the roads should start to get better soon," She replied standing up from her chair taking hold of Nick's shoulder.

Nick knew she was right, so he sat back down, but he got back up and said, "No I need to leave now, I'll use my sirens that should help."

Olivia knew Nick wasn't going to wait; he couldn't go any further at this point, there was too much going through his head. So he needed his anchor, and that was Judy.

"I'm sorry Live, I just need to be with Judy," Nick said giving Oliva a subtle smile.

"I know Nick, be safe," She replied.

Nick walked away from his desk, and he got into the elevator taking it down to the underground parking. Nick got into his car, and once he got out of the car park, he put on his sirens. He passed as many vehicles as he could trying to make it home.

After nearly two hours Nick made it to roads that weren't filled with cars, he sped through the street until he came up to the apartment complex where he lived. Nick turned off the sirens and then the engine, he got out of the car and ran inside of the building. Nick rushed up the stairs and right up to his apartment unlocking the door opening it, walking in before closing it behind him.

"Judy," Nick spoke out.

Nick walked into the kitchen seeing the scratches on the floor. Every time he saw them Nick got this unsettling feeling in his stomach. He quickly dismissed the feeling and made his way to the living room Judy still not being there. Nick's unwanted feelings again stirred within him, so Nick ran to his room opening the door to see the room was dark. His eyes adjusted within seconds, and he could see that Judy was safe in bed.

Judy hearing the sudden approach and the mighty swing of the door opening, woke up glancing at Nick with dazed eyes.

"Nick, You're home, I thought you were going to have to stay at the ZPD?" Judy questioned sounding groggy.

Nick smiled even though Judy could barely see it only knowing it was him because of the light coming from the open door.

"I managed to make it home; I couldn't go any further without being with you," Nick replied. He sat down near the edge of the bed close to where Judy was sleeping, and he said, "I was losing control of my emotions I couldn't keep myself at bay." Nick placed his paw on Judy's side nd he looked down at the ground in the sense of loss he spoke, "Someone else was lost today."

Judy sat up and turned on the lamp that was sitting on the night table, ignoring the pain she was in, before she asked, "Who Nick? Who else died today?"

Nick didn't want to say who it was because he wouldn't be able to tell her without crying, but Judy needed to know, so he turned to her and said with his voice becoming very brittle, "I really good friend of ours." Nick had gulped before a tear fell from his left eye as he said, "Clawhouser is dead, Judy ... He was in the building that got hit by the second bomb."

Tears trickled down Judy's face, and she said with brokenness, "Oh god! Nick, how could this have happened?"

Nick and Judy pulled one another into a hug and Nick replied with certainty, "Because of that bastard Davis! We had to let him go, Judy, it was the only way to stop him from killing more animals."

"Nick you had no choice," Judy said with a sniffle.

Nick broke away from Judy, and he said, "But I did! I had to let Davis go after the second one, and he promised to tell us about the other ones, but when he got far enough away, he called me and said there were only two."

"Nick, look at me," Judy said while pressing her paws against his cheeks. "I would have done the same thing, there was no way of knowing what he was going to do," She added while looking into his tear filled eyes.

"Judy I can't do this without you, come back to the ZPD," Nick begged.

Judy again hugged Nick while she said, "You know I can't, it's better for you this way."

Nick stood up from the bed and replied, "You mean because of the nightmares? Judy, they haven't gone, they've only gotten worse! Judy, I need you, I got this job because of you. I can't hold myself together when seeing all these bad things happen; I need you to keep me from falling apart."

"You know it's more than that," Judy replied. "You know why I had to leave the ZPD" She added standing up from the bed.

"Don't say it, Judy! That wasn't your fault, and you need to see that," Nick pleaded.

"How Nick how?" Judy questioned raising her tone ignoring the pain from her migraine.

"Because it's mine!" Nick yelled turning to her. "I should have pulled that trigger I should have killed that fucking wolf! But I couldn't, so I pulled you to cover not just because of my fear, but because I can't kill," He added.

"W-What do you mean you can't kill?" Judy asked her tone lowering.

"I can't because I made a promise to myself when I lost my father to never take someone else's life. I wasn't going to become the murderer who took my dad from me. So, I don't kill animals," Nick answered restraining from the yelling.

"Nick I didn't know," Judy replied with surprise.

"How could you? I never told anyone that," He said before taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

Judy took place beside him, she took hold of his right paw with both of hers, and she said, "Nick I'm ..."

"There's more, something I didn't know about until today," Nick interrupted.

"What happened Nick? Tell me," She Pleaded.

"I told you how my parents died, but what I believe happened wasn't the true," Nick said calmly staring at the wall in front of him. He turned to Judy and added, "Davis killed them, my father my mother. Davis was the one who hit my dad, so he covered it up, he said my mother found out it was him, so he killed her to keep himself from being discovered."

Judy pulled Nick back into her embrace before she said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be it wasn't your fault," Nick cried out.

The two held each other in silence not knowing what else to say. Nick was tired, he let go of the hold on his emotions which he was already losing, and he broke out into tears.

After nearly twenty minutes Nick spoke up moving away from his wife, wiping the tears from his eyes, "I'm sorry for fighting with you, about you leaving the ZPD." Nick had smiled before he added, "I won't fight with you again, it's just what Davis wants us to do."

"I'm the one who should be sorry, but I can't go back I wouldn't be able to hold myself together like you do, maybe some day, but I just can't," Judy replied with a faint smile.

Nick gave Judy a kiss before he said, "I understand, and when you do come back to the ZPD I will be there wth you." He smiled and chuckled out, "And we will make the world a better place."

Judy replied with a giggle, "Yeah maybe we will do that again."

* * *

 **Hello, I hope you liked the chapter. A lot of crazy things just went down, and I would like to know what all of you think about it.**

 **But Dosser how could we ever tell you what we think?**

 **Well, thanks for asking you could leave a scrumptious review for me to read telling me what you think about the chapter, believe me when I tell you it helps me know what you like and don't like. If I know that I can't make sure to improve on things none of you like.**

 **I know this chapter was shorter than my other ones, but no matter I'm planning on having much longer chapters in the future, and I'm talking about hitting the ten thousand words mark. On that topic, because I want my chapters to be longer and** **I have exams next week, I need to spend some time studying for them,** **I may or may not be a bit delayed on the next chapter.**

 **So don't worry if you don't see a new chapter from me I haven't left or anything I just have school to deal with.**

 **Anyway, until next time**


	14. The Fallen Families Part one

Chapter Fourteen: The Fallen families Part One

If the darkness of our world knocks, don't let it in, for if you do, the evil will consume you and nothing will be able to save you, not even family. The evil will take them from you so they can't stop it from keeping you.

* * *

April 3rd, 1973

"Fredrick!" Kyra yelled out.

The panther came running from outside straight into the kitchen to see his wife panting while trying to hold her balance.

"Honey, what's wrong, were you hit with another contraction?" He asked worried for her, seeing as she had already been having contractions for four hours.

"My water broke, this baby is coming!" She screamed out as she got stuck by a contraction.

"O-Okay Kyra, can you walk?" Fredrick asked while he frantically searched for the keys to his pickup truck.

Kyra had panted for a few more seconds before she answered, "I think so."

Fredrick found his keys, and he grabbed them before he said, "Never the matter I'll help you."

He walked over to his wife, and she threw her arm over his shoulder. The two Panthers made their way to the truck, and Fredrick helped his wife into the back seat. He quickly got into the driver seat and drove off trying to make it to the hospital as fast as possible.

"ahh! Oh god, that was a big one!" Kyra yelled out.

"Don't worry Honey everything is going to be okay," Fredrick said trying to reassure his wife.

They pulled up to the ZGH and parked in the emergency parking spaces. Fredrick helped his wife out of the back seat, and he walked her to the emergency entrance.

He kicked open the door and yelled, "I need some help over here!"

A couple of nurses came running up to help his wife.

Seeing that she was pregnant, one of them asked, "How far apart are the contractions?"

"I don't know, but she's been having them for hours now, her water just broke before I rushed her here!" The worried panther replied.

"Okay, when she's hit with the next one times it," One of the nurses ordered another one to do.

"let's get here to a delivery room, " One of them said.

The nurses helped the two Panthers get to a delivery room when Tyra was hit one a contraction. It lasted nearly forty seconds, and after three minutes she was hit with another one.

While two nurses helped with prepping her to give birth the doctor came in, the bovine smiled and said, "Hello I'm Doctor Hamlin." He looked to one of the nurses, and he asked, "How far apart are the contractions?"

"Three minutes," She replied.

"How dilated is she?" He asked.

"Four centimeters," She answered.

"may I asked you names?" The doctor said politely.

"I'm Fredrick Davis, and this is my wife, Kyra Davis," Fredrick answered.

"Alright Mrs. Davis when I say to push I want you to push as hard as you can okay," Hamlin said with an order in his tone.

"O-Okay," She complied.

"Uh, how much time is there? I need to call my mother; I need her to pick up my daughter from school," Fredrick asked looking at his wife.

"Not much," He replied.

"Just call her honey I'll be okay," Kyra said with a smile.

He gave in to his wife's words, and he left the room so he could call his mother.

Fredrick went up to the pay phone and dialed the number of his mother's home. He put in some change, and the phone rang three times before it was picked up.

"Hello?" I voice said calmly.

"Mom it's me, Fredrick, Look Kyra went into labor I'm at the hospital now, can you pick Ellie up from school?" The panther quickly begged of his mother.

"Okay Freddy, I'll pick her up," She replied.

"Thanks, Mom, I love you," Fredrick said with a kind tone.

"I love you too Freddy," She replied before hanging up the phone.

Fredrick ran back to the delivery room to see his wife in the middle of pushing as hard as she could.

"I can see it's head one more time!" The doctor exclaimed.

Fredrick ran up to his wife and took hold of her paw with his; she pushed one last time screaming as she did it. Next thing they knew the crying of a newborn baby filled the room with joy.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Davis you have a son," The doctor chuckled out while holding the little panther in his arms. "Would you like to cut the cord?" He asked looking at Fredrick.

"I would love to," He replied letting go of his wife's paw.

He walked up to the doctor and the nurse, she gave him the tool to cut the cord, and he did with a smile on his face.

The nurse cleaned as much of the afterbirth off of the baby and she dried him up as best she could.

"Here you are," The the nurse said passing Fredrick, the newborn son of his.

"Hey little guy," He chuckled out with a soft voice.

Fredrick walked over to the side of the hospital bed bending down with his son in his paws. He passed him to his wife while they both smiled in joy.

"Well Hon, what's his name?" Fredrick asked cheerfully.

"His name is Darcy Samual Davis," She replied with a smile of pure joy on her face.

* * *

A few hours past and Fredricks Mother showed up with his daughter.

"Nock Nock," The old Panther said while she opened the door to the hospital Kyra and Fredrick were moved too.

"Hey Mom," Fredrick said with a smile of surprise on his face. He looked down, and beside her was a little black furred Panther which he adored, "Ellie, you want to see your brother?"

"Would I!" She exclaimed in excitement.

Fredrick picked up his five-year-old daughter, and he placed her on the bed with her mother who was feeding her brother.

"What's his name?" She asked with wonder in her eyes as she gazed at the size of her new brother.

"His name is Darcy," Kyra answered with a smile.

"He's so small," She pointed out, seeing as Darcy was a fraction the size of her because of the age difference.

"Well he's brand new to this world, so he's small you were that small too you know," Her father said kindly.

"No way, I'm more than a foot tall," She said like it was impossible for her to have ever been so small.

"Honey we all were once that little, but we've all grown, so will he, one day he will be as big as you," Fredrick replied smiling at his oh so curious, daughter.

"Can I hold him?" She asked with a polite tone hoping that would help make them say yes.

"I just finished feeding him sweetie you can hold him," Her mother replied as she covered her breasts with her clothes.

Ellie moved up closer to her mother and sat crossed legged beside her mother as she carefully placed the small panther into her arms to hold.

Ellie kept him with the utmost care as she said, "Hello Darcy, I'm your big sister, I will be here whenever you need me, you just ask."

Both her parents chuckled before Fredrick said, "Are you going to make sure he's cared for?"

"Of course," She replied looking up at her father. she looked back down at her brother and said, "I will be there to protect him from anyone who ever harms him, he won't be bullied like me."

Both her parents' smiles faded for a few seconds, for they hated that their daughter got bullied, but they quickly came back, for they were pleased she had such mature words for a four-year-old.

* * *

November 12th, 1977

"Mommy where are we going?" Darcy asked as his mother strapped him into a car seat.

"We are going to see the principal of Ellie's school, to speak with him about getting you started in school along with some other things about your sister," Kyra said with a fading smile as she hated part of what as going to happen within the next two hours.

Kyra bucked her son in and closed the door to the back of her car. She got into the front seat and drove off heading to the Zootopia elementary. When she got there, Kyra got her son out from the back and them two walked inside of the building Darcy holding his mother's paw the whole time.

Kyra opened the doors to the front entrance of the large school; she headed to the office which was directly ahead. She opened the door to see her daughter lying down a few of the chairs crying.

"Ellie are you okay?" Kyra asked gravely concerned for her daughter.

Ellie looked up with tears covering her face, but what was most noticeable was the swelling of her left eyes. She got punched by a much older animal.

"Oh my god I didn't think it was that bad!" She exclaimed bending down to become eyes level with her daughter. "Who did this to you?" She asked.

"Jarred ... he's a jerk; I hate him!" She cried out.

Suddenly the door to the principle's office opened and out came two tigers the mother of the boy who hit Ellie.

While she was scolding him the principal, a Panda, came out, he told them to leave, but as they were walking by Kyra and her children the mother said, "I'm so sorry for what Jarred has been doing, if I had known about it sooner I would've stopped him."

She walked away with her son they left the building and drove away.

"Mrs. Davis," The Panda said from across the room, "You may come in."

Kyra walked over to the principle's office her kids following behind she let her children walk in before her, and she shut the door. All of them took a seat, Ellie, and Darcy, sharing one.

"Mrs. Davis I'm so sorry about what has been happening here. Unfortunately, a lot of bullying goes undiscovered because of children not speaking about it. I'm just glad this has come to an end for Ellie," He said with a displeased tone.

"What will happen to the boy?" She asked.

"Well he admitted to bullying your daughter for some time now, so I have no choice but to expel him, she wasn't the only one getting harassed by him," The panda answered.

"Mr. Gavin, Please watch her or have someone keep an eye on her I don't want to have to make her switch schools again," Kyra asked of him.

"Look I'll try my best to have someone make sure no one bullies her, but I can't promise anything," He replied.

"Thank you so much," Kyra said while she placed er paw on her daughters head.

"Now you told me you wanted to get your son started here?" The principal asked changing the subject.

"Oh ... uh, yes I want him to go to the same school as his sister, another reason I don't want to have to switch schools," She replied.

Kyra and the principal worked out everything that was necessary for Darcy to start at school seeing as he was now four it was time for him to begin his education.

After completing the paperwork, Kyra took her children home, despite it only being one PM. Kyra didn't want to have to leave her daughter at school with a black eye.

* * *

later that evening Ellie was in her room lying on her bed when Darcy came in.

Ellie didn't notice him at first, but when she glanced at the doorway she saw him, and it startled her, "Darcy what is it."

"Darcy walked over to the bed, he jumped up almost falling but managing to climb on, he sat crossing his legs before he asked, "Why do animals hurt you?"

Ellie sat up, but she didn't answer him because she didn't know how to.

"Ellie, do animals hate you?" Darcy asked curiously.

"I ... I don't know why they bully me, it's not fair," she finally answered.

"Well I won't let them hurt you no more," Darcy said with a firm tone trying to prove to his sister that he was telling the truth.

"Darcy, how are you going to stop anyone? I get bullied by bigger animals; you wouldn't be able to stop them," Ellie replied lacking hope in her little brother, it being well justified.

"I will you just see," He said with a louder tone.

Ellie smiled and said, "Okay I believe you. Now get in here."

Darcy got up, and Ellie pulled him into a hug.

"I love you, Ellie," Darcy whispered.

"I love you too Darcy," She replied happily.

* * *

April 16th, 1982

Darcy was walking to the bus stop to meet up with his sister after school so they could go home. While he was walking up to the bus stop, he could see his older sister being pushed around by a wolf.

He started to run up to them seeing his sister get pushed down to the ground and get kicked.

"Hey stop it!" He yelled in anger.

"The wolf saw the much younger Panther running up to him.

He laughed and said, "what are you going to do huh, call you mommy?"

"You stop hurting her or I will hurt you," Darcy exclaimed with a stern tone.

"Oh, you are going to hurt me?" He questioned with a laugh.

Darcy dropped his bag, he pulled out his claws and ran towards the wolf. Darcy jumped onto the bench and jumped off of it; he scratched the head of the wolf cutting deep into his skin under the gray fur.

"Ow! son of a bitch!" The wolf yelled. "I'm going to kill your puny ass!" He yelled out with rage.

"You leave him alone!" Ellie demanded.

The wolf again kicked Ellie in the stomach before he went after Darcy who ran away as fast he could. However, he wasn't trying to get away, when Darcy turned the corner he waited for the bully to turn it and he again cut him with his claws, this time it being across his arm.

Darcy ran around him while he held his arm and head in pain from the blood spilling from them.

"Ellie are you okay!" Darcy yelled to his sister as he ran up to her.

"I think so, ow," She groaned out in pain.

"How many times did he hit you?" Darcy asked frantically.

"I'm not sure, but it hurts," She cried out.

"Come on can you stand?" He asked worryingly.

Ellie tried to get up, but the pain in her stomach was too much for her. She fell back down and groaned.

"Okay, I'll help you up," Darcy offered while he placed his sister arm over his shoulders.

He stood up pulling her up with him, Darcy and Ellie waited for the bus when it showed up he helped his sister sit down before running out to get his bags. He ran back in just as the doors were closing, and he took his seat beside his sister.

"I guess I showed him huh?" Darcy said with a smirk.

"Y-Yeah I guess you did," Ellie replied trying to smile but being unable to from the pain caused to her. However, after a few minutes, she said with relief, "I think the pain is starting to go away."

"Good we wouldn't want to have to go to the hospital," Darcy replied with a smile, happy she was going to be okay.

"Thank you, Darcy," Ellie said suddenly. "I didn't know you could do such things," She added.

"Yeah me neither, it was pretty cool, though," He replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it was, " She chuckled out.

"Do ... do you think that wolf is going to be alright? I mean I didn't want to ... like you know hurt him too badly," Darcy questioned unsure if he had gone too far in his efforts to help Ellie.

"Josh, who cares he's a total Bitch," Ellie replied her hatred for the bully showing. She then realized that Darcy didn't want to responsible for going as far as to nearly kill someone, so she sighed and said, "I'm sure he will be alright."

"Are you sure I cut his head and arm?" Darcy asked still unsure if the bully was okay.

"Don't worry Darcy, he's a total jerk, but he's tough," Ellie replied reassuring him that everything was going to be okay.

The bus came to a stop, and the two got off, Ellie held her left bruised arm it now being what hurt the most. The two Panthers walked the last few blocks to their home in the Meadow Lands, when they reached home their mother noticed through the front window in the kitchen that Ellie was holding her let arm as if it was in pain.

Kyra ran out and asked with shock when she saw the further extent of her injuries, "Ellie are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mom," She replied ignoring her mother's worry.

"Who did this to you?" She asked looking at her cheek which had cuts on it, two going down the right side of her face.

"Just some bully, I'll be okay. Besides I got Darcy by my side, he stopped that jerk from hurting me even more," Ellie answered practice praising her brother.

Kyra looked at her son and asked, "Darcy what did you do?"

"She was being beaten up, so I stopped it by fighting back," Darcy replied with a smile on his face.

"What did you do to this bully?" She questioned.

"I uh ... I used my claws, I cut him on the top of the head and his arm," He answered looking down at his feet.

"So he was small?" She asked.

"No, he's a sixteen-year-old wolf named Josh," Ellie cut in.

"Darcy, you beat up a wolf who's twice your size?" Kyra asked in shock.

Darcy looked up at her and said slightly proud of the surprise he put into his mother, "Yeah I did, I jumped over him cutting his head. It was fricking awesome." Darcy then added looking back down, "I mean uh ... no I mean it was, but I shouldn't have done it, but I needed to, but ... I don't know."

"Darcy, it's okay, I'm not mad," His mother replied placing her paws on his shoulders.

Darcy looked back up at his mother, and he asked, "You're not?"

"No, you were protecting your sister, why would I be mad about that?" She replied, "Come on let's go inside," Kyra added.

The two Panthers went inside, and Kyra bandaged up Ellie's open wounds. Once she finished doing so, Kyra sent Elle away so she could have a talk with her son.

Darcy sat down in one of the chairs at their kitchen table and his mother bent down in front of him.

"Darcy, there is something I need you to understand, okay?" Kyra said with a calm tone.

"Okay," He said.

Kyra smiled at her son and said, "Hurting someone in any way is wrong, but sometimes it isn't we have no choice but to hurt other animals whether it is to protect us or someone else. It may be hard for you to understand this, but; sometimes it is necessary to hurt animals for progress to be made, for things to move forward some must get hurt."

"Mom what if you have to ... go further?" Darcy asked unsure how to asked the question.

"What do you mean Darcy, "She questioned.

Darcy looked down and said, "I mean to ..." He looked up and said, "To kill someone, what if you have to?"

Kyra in surprise didn't know what to say.

Hiding her utter bewilderment, she answered, "I don't know how to answer, baby."

Darcy smiled and replied, "It's okay, I understand you don't have to answer because you just did."

Kyra becoming even more shocked said, "Darcy, you will never have to go that far, you hear me, you don't have to." Kyra pulled Darcy into a hug and said, "I love you."

"I love you too, mom," He replied before pulling away from his mother.

Kyra let her son leave the chair as she took the seat and thought about what Darcy just said, unsure of what to do next.

* * *

It was nearing seven o'clock when Fredrick came home from work. Since he was a lawyer, sometimes he had to stay late.

Fredrick opened the door, and with a smile, he said as he smelled the food his wife was cooking, "Mmm, is that fish I smell?"

Kyra looked at him while he closed the front door and she said, "It is indeed." She walked up to him and with a smile she gave him a kiss before saying, "How was your day?"

"I ... I don't think you want to hear about that," Fredrick replied pulling away from his wife.

"Honey, this is the fourth time you've come home and didn't tell me about your day. What's wrong?" she asked worryingly.

"I'm sorry Kyra, but I'm not allowed to speak about it," Fredrick replied turning from his wife.

"What do you mean you can't tell me, Honey, you can tell me anything," She said grabbing his shoulder.

"I can't tell you," He replied.

Kyra moved around to face her husband, and she said, "You don't have to hide anything from me, you can trust me." She begged, "Please Fred if it's bothering you so much talk to me about it."

Fredrick was reluctant, but he gave into his wife's plea to help him, and he said, "I have to help someone get away with murder."

Kyra pulled him into a hug and with silence confronted her husband.

"It goes against everything I believe. How can I help a murderer get away with killing someone?" He asked.

Kyra again pulled away from her husband and said, "Sometimes we have no choice, but to do what we feel is wrong, things we hate."

"Yes, but this is much more than that, this ... this is murder!" He exclaimed.

The two continued to discuss what was happening but realizing that the whole time their son Darcy, was listening to them hiding just around the corner of the wall separating one room with the kitchen.

"Then give up the case," She replied.

"I can't, you know what that would do to my reputation, I could lose my job, and we would lose everything!" He said still conflicted by what he needed to do.

Kyra sat down, and so did Frederick, she leaned over the table and took hold of his paws with hers, and she said, "You have to do what you think is best for everyone what you feel is right."

Fredrick knew she was right and in his mind, he didn't want anything to ever happen to his family. After nearly no thought he made his decision if letting one animal get away with murder kept food on the table so be it.

"Okay," He replied smiling back at his wife.

The two stood back up and hugged once more again kissing each other. Darcy quickly ran off to the bedroom of his.

His father knocked and said, "Hey buddy can I come in?"

"Sure," He replied, pretending that he didn't just hear his conversation with his mother.

Darcy's father opened the door, and with a smile, he asked, "Hey buddy, how was your day?" Fredrick picked him up and spun him around.

Darcy laughed as his father tickled him and he said while chuckling, "Good until the end of it!"

"Oh, what happened?" His father asked setting hm down on his bed right where he was before picking him up.

"There was a bully, he was hurting Ellie," He said looking down from his dad. "But I stopped him!" He exclaimed looking back up with a smile.

"Really?" He questioned.

"Yeah, it was really cool!" He said jumping from his bed. "I ran up to a bench at the bus stop jumping on it and off of it over the wolf's head, and I cut him! Then when he ran after him, I hid behind a corner, and when he turned it, I cut his arm!" Darcy added with excitement.

"Is Ellie alright?" He asked his worry becoming worried for his daughter.

"Uh, yeah, she's in her room, just a couple of bruises, I think, but dad I saved her!"

"Yes you did," He said with a smile. "Now go dinner is ready," He added.

Darcy ran off heading to the kitchen for dinner. Meanwhile, Fredrick went to his daughter's room to see her.

He knocked on the door and asked, "Ellie sweetie, may I come in?"

"Why!" She shouted through the door.

"Well for one I want to talk to you, and second to see if you're okay after what happened today.

Ellie was silent for a few more seconds before she agreed and said, "Fine."

Fredrick open the door to see his daughter lying on her bed in the far corner of the room. He walked up to the bed and sat down on the end of the bed.

"Hey," He said with a smile while looking ahead of him.

"I'm all right just so you know," Ellie said while she sat up closing her book and placing it on the bed.

"I know, your brother told me, he saved you," her father replied turning to her.

"Yeah he did," She answered with a subtle smile.

"You know, I'm surprised the cops haven't shown up yet, from what Darcy told me he cut him up pretty bad?" Fredrick questioned.

"Josh is his name; he's a wolf. The jerk doesn't even know my name let alone Darcy's. Besides, even if he were to call the cops they would soon find out what he did to me, and the law would take my side, you would take my side," She said with confidence

"I guess you're right, but next time try to handle it a bit better," He replied. "Now come on, dinner is ready," He added while he stood up extending his paw to his daughter.

She gladly took hold of his paw, and he helped her stand up. The two made their way to the kitchen, and they sat down with Kyra and Darcy.

"Darcy, would you like to say grace?" Fredrick asked.

"Uh ... o-okay," He replied. "Uh, dear Lord I thank you for, uh this food we are about to eat, um bless my mother that has prepared it, amen," He said unsure of how to say grace it always being his father who said it.

"Good now we can eat," Fredrick said with a smile.

* * *

July 12th, 1984

"Hey Ellie, do you know why there is a big truck parked outside?" Darcy asked walking up to her, who was sitting on the couch in their living room.

Ellie put down here book and said, "Oh, did dad not tell you, someone is here to check out the electricity, they are going to try and fix the problems we have been having."

"You mean the power surges?" He asked.

"Yeah, those. Go tell mom they are here," She ordered of her brother.

"Why do I have to?" He asked demanding an answer.

"Just because," She replied with a smirk.

"Because why? ugh," he said giving up on arguing with her.

Darcy walked away heading to the small hallway that broke off from the living room, directly ahead of it was a bedroom, it being his parents. Darcy knocked on the door before opening it to see his mother folding clothes.

"Mom the electricity animals are here," Darcy said with annoyance.

"Perfect," She replied immediately dropping what she was doing and heading out of her room.

She walked through the living room going to the kitchen which had the front door in it. Awaiting her presence was two animals one a pig and the other a rhino.

Kyra opened the door and said, "You must be from Zootopia electric?"

"Uh, yes, you called about electrical surges?" the pig questioned.

"Yes the power keeps cutting in and out, do you think you can fix it?" Kyra asked.

"Well, I would need to see what is causing the problem first," The Rhino cut in.

"Well come on in," she offered.

The two came into the house, and they went to the check the breaker box. After no luck finding the problem by using the breaker box, the pig went back upstairs.

He went into the kitchen where Kyra was waiting while they fixed the problem and he said, "Miss, we can't find the problem by checking the breakers, so we need to have access to all the outlets and light switches."

"Okay, go ahead," Se agreed.

"Thank you," He replied before going back to the basement to get his partner.

"Mom, how long do you think this is going to take?" Darcy asked.

"I don't know Darcy, but I hope it's soon, I don't like their being a dangerous problem in this house," Kyra answered looking down at her son. "You and Ellie should go out, get some fresh air, it's good for you," She then suggested.

"Okay, I'll ask her if she wants to go for a walk," Darcy complied before walking away heading to the living room. He jumped onto the couch where Ellie was sitting trying to read a book, and he asked, "Whatcha reading?"

"The Dead Zone, by Stephen King," She replied with annoyance.

"It's going to get noisy up here pretty soon, so I don't think you're going to be able to read it," Darcy said while he subtly tried to look over his sister's shoulder.

Ellie bent the page she was on in the book then she slapped it shut before she asked, "What are you suggesting?"

"You want to go for a walk?" He asked.

"where are we going, for real Darcy?" She asked thinking he had a larger plan in mind.

"I don't know yet, I felt maybe we should just wing it today, I'm getting tired of leading you to random places in the city," He replied standing up from the couch.

"Okay," She sad before standing up herself. "If we are going for a walk that will end up in us going somewhere to hang out, I'm choosing where" She demanded.

"Deal," He said before jumping over the coffee table behind him.

Ellie dropped her book on the table and ran after him. The two ran out the front door and stopped when they reached the sidewalk.

While they were walking silence arose, and Darcy wished to break it, so he spoke up, "Ellie?"

"Yeah," She replied.

Changing his mind no longer wanting to ask Ellie his question he said, "Never mind it doesn't matter."

"Darcy doesn't go changing your mind like that, it's annoying when you do that," Ellie demanded.

"You can't tell me how to think," He replied.

"I'm not telling you how to think, I'm telling you to stop changing your mind in the middle of a question," Ellie said before they both stopped walking, reaching a crosswalk.

"Ugh, fine, I will ask my question," He shrugged out. The crosswalk changed, and the two started to walk as Darcy asked, "Have you ever had a night terror?"

"A night terror?" She questioned.

"Y-Yeah ever had one before?" Darcy again asked.

Ellie looked down to her brother who was beside her, and she said, "You're having them aren't you?"

"What no, I-I'm not having night terrors!" He exclaimed.

They crossed the street, and Ellie stopped in her track bending down to become eye level with her brother.

"Don't do this Darcy, you're always doing this, why can't you just be honest with me? If you can't then don't ask me questions then back out of them," She said with a serious tone.

"Yes okay, fine I'm having night terrors, I just wanted to know if you ever had them?" Darcy replied with annoyance.

Ellie stood up straight, and they both started to walk again.

"No, I have never had them, but this is news to me, does mom or dad know?" she asked.

"N-No, I haven't told anyone about them," He replied looking down at the sidewalk as they walked.

"Darcy, what makes you think I could help you?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know, you always help me when I need it, and I always help when you need. I thought maybe you would know what to do," Darcy replied looking up to her.

"Look we are almost home if you want my help I think you should tell mom about these night terrors," She suggested.

"No!" He shouted. Darcy grabbed her arm and said, "You can't tell her, I can't tell her."

"W-Why not? Darcy, she can help you more than I can," She pleaded.

"Because ... because of what happens in the dreams," He murmured out.

They again stopped in their tracks just half a block away from their home.

Ellie looked at her brother with worry, unsure of how serious his problem was, she bent down and asked, "Darcy, what happens in the dreams?"

Darcy glanced away from his sister, but he looked back at her and said, "I ... I kill someone, no I kill more than jus one animal." His extant increased as he said, "I-I attack them, I beat them. I slaughter them! I-I don't know what to do, t-they scare me, Ellie, I don't want to have them anymore!"

Ellie pulled her little brother into a hug completely overwhelmed with shock; she said, "It's okay, Mom won't be mad, she only ever wants to help us, that's what mothers do."

"A-Are you sure?" Darcy cried out.

"I'm positive; you will be okay, Darcy, Mom loves you, Dad loves you ... I love you," Ellie replied with a soft voice.

"I love you to Ellie," He whispered with a sniffle.

Ellie pulled away from her brother and with a smile she said, "Come on let's get home, you don't have to tell them now, you can wait until tomorrow if you need time to prepare."

"O-Okay, thank you Ellie, and I promise that next time I want to ask you something I won't change my mind," Darcy said with a chuckle his sadness and despair fading away.

"You'd better!" She replied with a smirk on her own face.

The two walked the rest of the way home, and to the lack of surprise, the electricians were still there. Ellie sighed in annoyance; then the two walked in through the front door.

"Hey kiddos, what did you two do?" Kyra asked pleasantly.

"Oh we just walked and talked," Ellie answered,

"Oh, about what?" She asked.

"lots of different things, I wouldn't know where to start," Darcy cut in.

Kyra chuckled before she happily said, "Okay, well the two electricians already tested the electricity in both of your rooms. Don't worry nothing was touched they just tested the outlets and switches. You two should go up there; I'll call you down when they are done."

"Okay," Both Darcy and Ellie said at the same time.

The two Panthers went upstairs to their rooms, Ellie stopping in the living room for her book.

Meanwhile, the two animals working in their house finished, and they went into the kitchen to see Kyra cooking dinner it being almost six PM.

"Excuse me, Miss, I need to have a talk with you about the problem," The pig said with a stern tone.

She turned around and said, "Okay, have a seat."

The two took the seat at the table, and Kra followed suit by sitting own beside them.

"Okay, so what's te verdict?" She asked with a smile.

"We know what the problem is; we just can't get to it. If we were to try and work on it now, we would be here for another six hours. So we need to come back tomorrow," The pig said with an unsettling tone.

"Well, what's the problem?" She asked.

"There is a couple of wires behind the living room wall that have water damage to them, probably from a leak, that we will also look for and have a plumber come in and fix," He answered.

"Okay, Is it dangerous?" Kyra questioned.

"Personally would turn off the power when going to bed, so you don't have the chance of something going wrong while you're all asleep," The pig said.

"Okay, I'll tell my husband," She replied.

The three stood up, and Kyra shook their paws before they packed up their tools and left. Soon Fredrick came home seeing that dinner had already been made and they were all waiting for him to get home.

All four Panthers sat down and ate their meals, when Fredrick asked, "So how is the electric problem going?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, they need to come back tomorrow," Kyra answered. "But there is a problem," She added.

"What's that?" He asked.

"They said they need to rip out a wall in the living room to fix the problem," She replied.

"Oh, that's nothing, we can always have that fixed, in fact instead of having them dismantle one wall, we just have them come in and redo all the electric wiring," Fredrick suggested.

"Wait are you being serious?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, why not? I just finished a big case; we have more than enough money to pay for it. Plus we can mock most of it up to insurance seeing as there is already a problem with the wiring," Fredrick replied with a smile.

Kyra spoke up saying, "Honey you're talking about taking out all the walls and-"

"Yes I am, you know what, why don't we have the whole house renovated?" Fredrick said with joy standing from his chair. "It's about this home gets an upgrade and you know we have the money, so let's do it, we can rent a condo while they to it too!" He added optimistically.

"Dad, can they do my room too?" Darcy asked with excitement.

"Of cause I wouldn't dream of leaving out you are your sister's room!" He replied.

"Fredrick, are you sure about all this, it's not something you make a decision about overnight," Kyra asked standing up.

"Well we would still need to go over the details," He added.

"You know what I mean. Fred, what's gotten into you, why do you want to do this?" Kyra asked with a concerned tone.

"Baby, I'm the full-time homicide attorney at my firm, I'm getting paid twice what I was!" Fredrick exclaimed with joy.

Darcy watched, and his mood changed as his father said this. He looked at his sister then he left his seat and walked away.

Frederick saw him leaving, and he asked, "Darcy what's wrong?"

Darcy stopped in his tracks and said, "You're helping evil animals get away with killing full time now, it's wrong, you shouldn't be doing that."

"What?" He said, his tone changing.

"I said you shouldn't be helping criminals get away with murder," Darcy repeated himself.

Fredrick walked up to his son, he bent over and said, "What right do you have to tell me what I should do, I put food on the table you don't. Maybe when you start paying for what you own, you can tell me what I'm doing is wrong."

"What if it was me who got killed and you had to get the killer off the hook?" Darcy asked looking his dad straight in the eyes.

"Darcy you know I wouldn't," He said with a calmer tone.

"I thought you had to do it no matter what, so you could put food on the table," Darcy said with anger.

"Darcy, that was uncalled for, go to your room now!" Kyra yelled.

Darcy complied and happily left the kitchen heading right to his room.

"You know he's right," Ellie spoke up.

"What?" Fredrick asked.

"Darcy is right; you shouldn't be doing that kind of thing," Ellie restated.

Ellie got up from her chair, and she walked passed her parents going upstairs to see her brother.

Ellie opened the bedroom door to see Darcy crying into his pillow.

"Go away!" He sobbed out with a muffled voice.

Ellie closed the door and asked, "Are you sure you want me to go away?"

Darcy turned over and sat up answering, "I thought you were Mom."

"Nope just me," She replied. Ellie sat down beside him and said, "I agree with you, you know that right?"

Darcy had sniffled before he replied, "Yeah I do." he wiped his eyes and asked, "Do you still want me to tell them about the dreams?"

"I don't think right now is the best time, but I will help you okay," She answered.

"You will?" he said with surprise.

"Anything for my little brother, besides you're always there for me, time to return the favor," Ellie replied with a smile before she hugged her brother.

Some time past and Darcy and Ellie decided to go to bed. Their parents did the same, Kyra shutting off the power to the house as instructed by the electrician.

A few hours into the night Darcy woke up from one of his Night terrors, so he walked through the dark hallway to his sister's room. She happily let him come into her room, she let him fall asleep in her bed close to her.

* * *

"Darcy wake up ... cough ... Darcy!" Ellie yelled.

Darcy's eyes opened, and he coughed before he said, "Ellie what's wrong!"

"T-The house ... cough ... it's on fire; we need to get out!" She exclaimed.

Darcy got up from the bed, and he followed his sister out her door. When she opened it fire filled the far end of the hallway the floor collapsing in on itself into the living room.

Ellie grabbed Darcy's arm, and they ran down the stairs which were becoming hot from the fire underneath them.

They passed their parents room, and Darcy yelled, "Ellie what about mom and dad!"

Darcy broke away from his sister's grasp, and Ellie screamed, "Darcy don't!"

Darcy opened the door to his parent's room; the fire raged from the room throwing Darcy back.

"Darcy!" Ellie shouted. She ran up to him and shook him while begging, "Wake up, please wake up."

Coming out of a daze, Darcy looked ahead of him to see that his parent's room engulfed in flames.

"No!" He screamed.

"Darcy come on!" Ellie pleaded.

The two stood back up and ran into the kitchen. The fire spread across the wall against the living room wall, Darcy and Ellie ran passed it and out the front door. Both of them ran from the house and onto the sidewalk where a few animals stood, before going to see if they were okay.

"Ellie, Darcy! Where are your parents?" an antelope asked, knowing who they were, for he lived a few houses down.

"They're still in there!" Darcy yelled.

"They didn't make it," Ellie added. She fell to her knees and started to cry while she said, "They're gone."

Darcy fell beside her pulling her into a hug.

The animals standing around didn't know what else to do but watch until the fire department showed up.

When they did, all of them knew it was too late for Darcy and Ellie's parents, so they tried their best to put out the fire, more than half of the house was up in flames it breaking apart becoming unsteady. Soon as Darcy and Ellie watched from an ambulance on the road as the house collapsed in on itself. The fire slowed as the night went on the sun breaking the night as the fire went out.

* * *

"last night a fire broke out in the Meadow Lands killing two, leaving two more parentless. Police and firefighters say, due to electrical problems clearly present in the home caused the fire to break out so violently," The news anchor said.

"yes and it was also confirmed by the police that there was going to be work done to fix the problem, sadly it was too late," The second anchor added.

"Ellie, turn it off," Darcy begged of her.

She agreed with him and turned off the TV mounted to the ceiling in the far left corner of the room. She looked for the remote, finding it on the small table under the TV. Ellie clicked the power button on it, and the TV turned off.

"All better?" She asked.

Darcy smiled subtly and replied, "Yes thank you."

a few more minutes went by when an officer came into the waiting room.

"you two, someone is here to take custody of you," He said.

"Uh who are yu, "Ellie asked.

"I'm officer Bogo," He answered.

"Rookie, hurry up and bring the children, their grandmother is here!" The chief exclaimed from the other end of the detective department.

"Yes sir," He replied. "Come on now," He demanded.

The young Buffalo walked away, the two others following close behind, he stopped, and they stopped behind him.

"Rookie, meet Mrs. Davis, the grandmother of these two," the elephant said with a smile.

"Uh, nice to meet you I guess," Bogo said to her extending his arm out so the could shape paws.

"I would hardly say it's nice to meet you, under the circumstances," She replied before extending out her arm. "Now I would like to speak to my grandchildren if you please," She added with a stern tone.

"Uh, yes mam," The chief replied, "Come on Rookie," He added before walking away Bogo following him.

"I'm not a rookie, I've been here for three years," He said while they walked away.

"Hi grandma," Darcy said throwing himself into her embrace.

"Hello, Darcy," She said holding back all her emotion. "Come on Ellie, get in here," She said with a subtle smile.

Ellie broke, she burst into tears and fell into her grandmother's arms alongside Darcy.

"It's going to be okay," Their grandmother said her tone becoming brittle.

"How do you know?" Darcy asked with tears falling from his face.

"Right now nothing is alright, it can only get better fro here on," She answered with hope.

"I miss them already," Ellie said with a sob.

"I do too, Ellie, but we have to be strong if we are to pull through our suffering," she replied.

All three of them stood up off of their knees, Darcy and Ellie followed their grandmother to the front entrance of the precinct. She walked them to her car, and all three of them got in.

As the pulled out of the parking lot, Darcy looked to the front of the precinct reading the sign that said, "ZPD Precinct One."

Their grandmother took them into the savanna Central, it being where she and her husband lived. When they pulled up to the small house and waiting for them on the front porch was their Grandfather, Hayward.

All three of them got out of the now parked car, and Darcy and Ellie walked passed him.

"Willow, how did it go they seem much worse than I thought they would be?" Hayward asked.

"Willow hugged her husband and said, "Do you blame them, our son and daughter in law ... their parents just ... just died."

"Well at least they have each other," He replied trying to find a light in the darkness that surrounded them. "Come on let's get them inside," He added.

the two much older Panthers turned and walked over to the two children who had burn holes and dirt all over their clothes.

"You two are going to need to change into some clean clothes, you still have some here from when you visited, but I will need to buy you some new ones," Willow said opening the door for the two who were waiting for them.

"Thanks," Ellie replied lacking enthusiasm.

All four Panthers made their way into the home the front door taking them into a small front entrance that broke off in two directions. To the right, the living room and the left the kitchen.

"Now we are sorry, but you will still have to share a room like when you came to visit, I hope you don't mind," Hayward said while he closed the door behind him.

"It's okay, we don't mind," Ellie replied.

"Well great, that will make things easier," Hayward added.

"Come on Darcy," Ellie said as she walked into the living room.

Darcy followed, and the two siblings made their way from the living room to a hallway that had three rooms. The one directly in front of the hall was the master, and it was where their grandparents slept, it too had a bathroom. The one to the right was a small room filled with storage and the last one being on the left was another large bedroom with two beds on opposite sides of it. In the middle of the far wall was a door to another bathroom, it having a bathtub and a stand-up shower.

Ellie walked over to the dresser by the bed on the left side of the room; it was small only having three drawers each one having a few pieces of clothing in it that fit her, the rest of it being too small for her. Darcy did the same opening the little dresser on his side of the room it being identical to Ellie's. Unfortunately for him, he had the same problem as his sister, only a few T-shirts, pairs of pants and underwear fit him.

"So do you want to take your shower first?" Ellie asked while she searched through the last drawer of the dresser.

"Sure," he replied not caring if he even took one.

Darcy fell to his knees, and he started to cry before he quickly got back up and punched the dresser as hard as he could.

Ellie ran over to him, she fell to her knees and said with shock, "Darcy don't, you're going to hurt yourself!"

"What does it matter!" He yelled. "I don't care anymore our parents are dead, and we couldn't save them," He cried out.

"I care, Darcy, you're my brother I love you, and you're all I have left," Ellie cried out. Ellie pulled Darcy into a hug and said, "Don't do this to yourself."

Darcy cried out tears dripping from his face onto his sister's shoulder.

"Everything is gone Ellie, our family, our home, everything," He sobbed.

Ellie pulled her brother away from her and held his cheeks with her paws as she said, "we still have each other, and our grandparents."

"Ellie, we barely know them, we only ever came here when mom and dad were gone for more than a day, we never talked to them," Darcy said while he wiped his eyes.

"Don't say things like that, they are our family too; we may not be close to them. but we can," Ellie replied with a smile.

Ellie pulled her brother closer to her, and they held one another for a few more minutes. Little did they know their grandparents were listening to them while they stood in the hallway just out of sight.

After they had gotten up from the floor, Darcy cleaned himself up, before Ellie did the same. However, because they had to share a room, they got dressed in the bathroom with the door closed.

Being up for most of the night plus going through such loss took a toll on them both. They spent most of their day in their room sleeping or trying to for that matter. Darcy could barely keep his eyes shut, despite being so tired, all he could do was think about what had happened and what was going to happen next.

Willow called them for lunch and dinner, and once they finished eating, the two siblings went back to their room. They didn't have toothbrushes with them, so their grandmother gave them the extra ones they kept for when theirs became too dingy to use.

Then, after they had finished the two went to bed, and finally, Darcy was able to fall asleep.

* * *

"Darcy!" a voice screamed.

"Mom?" He yelled out.

He opened his door and walked out into the fire that filled the upstairs.

"Mom Dad!" He screamed.

"Darcy help us!" They begged.

"I'm coming!" He yelled.

Darcy raced down the stairs as they fell behind him. He went to open the door to his parent's room to see them screaming in agonizing pain.

"Darcy save us!" They screamed while their fur burned off.

Darcy ran into the fire to try and pull them out, but when he entered to room, the ground beneath him fell and took him with it.

"No!" He exclaimed waking up in a cold sweat.

Ellie woke to the sudden screaming, and she knew what had happened the moment she awoke.

Ellie got up from her bed, and she asked, "Darcy are you alright?"

"E-Ellie," He said with a stutter. Darcy started to cry as he said, "I c-could have saved them, b-but, I couldn't, I watched them burn."

Ellie got onto Darcy's bed, she hugged him while his whole body quivered and she said, "It's going to be alright, I'm here now, it was just a be dream."

"I should have saved them, why didn't we save them?" He cried out.

"Shh ... Shh ... calm down Darcy, just breathe," She said trying to ease him, for she could feel his heart and it was beating faster than normal.

"The last time, I s-spoke to dad I was mad at him, he will n-never know I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry," He sobbed into his sister's chest.

Ellie didn't know what else to say, so all she did was hold her broken, terrified little brother as he cried, as he blamed himself for their parent's death.

"I'm scared Ellie," He cried out.

"I know Darcy, I know," She replied as she, herself began to cry.

* * *

June 17th, 1984

as the bodies of Kyra and Fredrick were lowered down into the ground, the preacher spoke, "Into the darkness and warmth of the earth

We lay you down

Into the sadness and smiles of our memories

We lay you down

Into the cycle of living and dying and rising again

We lay you down

May you rest in peace, in fulfillment, in loving

May you run straight home in God's embrace."

Ellie and Darcy watched from the front row of seats as the ground swallowed their parent's bodies. As dirt was thrown over the caskets that were never open, for the bodies were too burned.

Darcy was broken, he hated himself, hated that the last time he saw his mother and father, they were angry with him. Darcy hated that there was no bringing them back, that there was no one to blame for their deaths. So he blamed himself, and he would never let go of that burden for as long as he lived.

Ellie cried, she was just as broken as her brother, going through the same things as him. However, she didn't blame herself for what happened, she unlike her brother would heal from these wounds caused to her. She would spend her life trying to fix what was broken, for she loved her brother so much, she would never give up on saving his soul from the darkness that for years before, pulled on him, that called to him from the shadows. Ellie would save her brother from truly falling prey to the evil that filled their world.

* * *

 **Ruth Burgess wrote that funeral poem I used.**

 **Be sure to leave me one of them reviews I hear they taste like candy. If you haven't followed my story, you might want to so you can get notified when a new chapter is posted, or you can follow it because I hear that tastes like Moutain Dew.**

 **Hello there, sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I had exams last week, and I didn't have a lot of time to work on this. Now this is only part one of two of the back story on Darcy Davis, and what made him the evil being we see today. You see this chapter is around 9300 words, but it was much longer I was at 14000 words, so I decided instead of making you wait even longer to get some content because I still have a lot left to write, I split it into two parts so that I can finish it.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.**

 **until next time**


	15. The Fallen Families Part two

Chapter Fifteen: The Fallen Families part two

What are we capable of when we are young when all we have is our fallen families?

* * *

April 3rd, 1989

"Darcy," Ellie whispered. "Darcy!" She again said, but much louder than before.

"Uh jeez Ellie don't scream in my ears," He said as he awoke suddenly. Darcy rubbed his eyes before opening them to see his sister hovering over him, he smiled and asked, "Do you need something?"

"Well it is your birthday, and we haven't done anything and the day is almost over," She replied.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" He asked sitting up on the couch.

"I got tickets to a movie," She replied.

"What movie?" Darcy asked now interested.

"It's a comedy called Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure; it's supposed to be superb," She answered.

"Oh, I heard about that movie, When o you leave?" Darcy asked standing up from the couch with a smirk on his face.

"Well it's at nine PM if we take the bus we should get there in about thirty minutes, so in twenty minutes," replied.

"Well then we better get ready," He chuckled out.

The two got their coat and waited for another ten minutes before leaving their home. They told their grandparents where they were going then left happily.

Darcy and Ellie waited for the bus it only taking two minutes to get them, they got on, and since they had yearly passes, they didn't need to paw the toll.

"So, uh ... I'm leaving," Ellie said suddenly.

Darcy turned to her and replied, "I know, I overheard you talking to Willow."

"Wait you're not mad?" She asked with surprise.

"No, why would I be mad, you're going to college, yes I know about that too, I can't get upset at you for pursuing your dream job of being an artist?" He answered. "I've seen your work, it's beautiful," He added with a smile.

"You really think so?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do, besides its only for a few years, then you come back," He replied.

"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right, and Darcy, thank you, for being so calm and okay about this," She said with a smile.

What she didn't tell him was her fear of leaving him alone. They had been by each other's side ever since they were little kids, protecting one another, helping each other. Then there was what Ellie called her most important duty, saving Darcy from his own thoughts.

His nightmares never ended, and they only ever got worse, Darcy said he got used to them, and he slept through them as best he could. However, sometimes they were so filled with dark thoughts that he awoke with such great fear that only Ellie could calm him down.

The bus stopped, and the two got off, they walked the last block before coming up to the movie theater. They gave their tickets to the animals collecting them, Ellie bought some popcorn, and the two watched the movie.

* * *

After the movie had finished Darcy and Ellie took the bus home.

"I still don't understand time travel," Ellie chuckled out while they were walking that last few blocks in between them and their home.

"Well if I can't explain it to you then no one can," Darcy replied with a smirk.

Ellie had smiled before she looked away, as the silence fell she broke it by saying, "You know I may be leaving, but I still love you, you'll always be my little brother."

Darcy smiled back her and said, "Yeah, I love-"

Out of nowhere, a coyote came out from the shadows of the alleyway beside Darcy and Ellie. He had hit Darcy over the head with a rock, and he fell to the ground.

"Darcy!" Ellie screamed.

"Shut it," The Coyote said as he grabbed Ellie.

He pulled her into the alley behind them, and he threw her to the ground.

"Get off of me!" She had screamed before he grabbed her muzzle holding it shut.

The coyote beat her until she was too weak to call for help or save herself. Then the Coyote stripped her to defile her.

As this happened, Darcy opened his eyes and watched unable to move for the first few seconds before he tried to get back up. Once he regained his balance, Darcy bent down and grabbed the rock the coyote had used.

"Get off of her!" He demanded before bashing the Coyote over the head with the stone.

He pulled him away from her half naked sister who was bleeding from her muzzle, arms, and back.

"Ellie!" He said petrified for her.

Darcy fell in front of her and picked her up.

"Ellie," He said shaking her body lightly. "Ellie wake up," He begged. Darcy held her closer to him as he cried out, "Wake up, Don't go, please."

As soon as he realized it was too late Darcy gently placed her body down on the ground. He turned around and picked up the rock he had just used to knock the coyote unconscious.

"Ahhh!" He screamed as he plunged with all his strength the pointed end of the rock into the head of the coyote.

He fell to her knees pulled it out of his head before hitting him again, again, again, and again. Darcy hit him over and over while he cried in anger. Darcy hit the coyote so many times that his head was nothing but mush on the pavement, then he finally stopped.

He dropped the stone; then Darcy stood up over the dead body. His paws drenched in blood, and his face had some splattered blood on it. He looked down at the body with pure anger in his eyes, then when he looked at his sister's body, that rage and anger turned into sorrow and sadness.

Darcy walked back over to his sister's body, he bent down onto his knees, and he picked her up. Darcy held her in his arms until someone walked past him and he begged for help.

"Help please," He pleaded as a Caracal was walking passed the alleyway.

The Caracal turned to the noise he heard only to find in the shadows of the street light a Panther with another cat in his blood-covered arms. Beside him a headless coyote.

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed with horror.

"Help please!" Darcy begged.

"W-What happened!" He questioned with overwhelming fear in his tone.

"W-We were attacked by h-him," He answered.

The Caracal moved closer and asked, "You did that to that animal, didn't you?"

"He killed my sister!" Darcy yelled with anger.

"I'll call for help, t-there is a-a pay phone up the block," The Caracal fumbled out backing away from Darcy.

"Please hurry!" He demanded.

The Caracal ran off leaving Darcy alone, his thoughts already being filled with darkness, hatred, and pure anger. The Caracal dialed nine-one-one in the pay phone and urgently awaited for an answer

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" The operator asked.

"H-Hi, m-my name is Josh, I just found ... s-something you're n-not going to believe," He replied with a panic.

"Sir I need you to calm down and tell me what you have seen and I remind you, calling in a fake emergency is a crime," The operator replied.

"O-Okay, okay, I-I was walking home when A panther called out to me, he looks to be in his mid-teens, but he was holding w-who he called his sister. S-She was dead a-and beside them, w-was a body ... w-with no head," He answered still unnerved by what he dad seen and had to describe.

"Okay, sir I need you to stay calm, can you tell me where you are," She asked wishes in her tone.

"I'm at the corner of Spring St and New Drive north, t-they are down the road Spring St in an alley," The Caracal answered.

"Okay officers with two ambulances are on their way," She replied.

The Caracal hung up the phone and did as he promised running back down the road to Darcy.

"I called the police!" he said with slight shortness of breath.

"Thank you," Darcy replied.

"They should be here soon," He added.

Darcy knew he was only saying this despite it being obvious because he didn't want to stay and look at the bodies.

So Darcy said, "Just leave there is no point in you waiting here."

The Caracal did just that, he ran, not wanting to be a part of what happened or what was going to happen next.

Darcy sat with his sister in his arms while the faint sirens slowly then quickly became louder.

The pulled up the street looking for the alley Darcy was in flashing a big light into it. They say him and the patrol officers were horrified by what they saw. The head of a coyote completely smashed into nothing but a mess of crushed brains, blood, and a shattered skull.

"Get a detective here with more officers ... now!" the Wolf ordered.

The wolf got out of the car and pulled out his tranquilizer.

The officer walked around the car pointing it while he said, "Don't move!"

"I had no choice, h-he was ... hurting her," Darcy spoke out.

"Put her down and get you paws behind your head!" He demanded.

"I'm so sorry Ellie," He whispered to himself before he carefully laid Ellie's body down by his feet before he got on his knees with his paws intertwined behind his head.

The wolf holstered his tranq gun and grabbed a pair of cuffs and a muzzle to put over Darcy's face. The cop pulled down Darcy's blood covered paws and cuffed them before he pulled the muzzle over his face tightening it.

"Come on get up!" HE said while he pulled his up to walk him over to the patrol car.

The wolf opened the back door and put Darcy into the car.

"Gorden, Precinct twenty is sending someone," The Cheetah said to the wolf through the window.

"Thanks, who are they sending?" He asked.

"A buffalo, detective Bogo," the cheetah answered.

"Okay, I'll tell the EMTs they have to wait until the detective gets here to deal with the bodies, You get the tape and seal off the crime scene," Gorden ordered.

The cheetah nodded in agreement, and he got out of the car with caution tape. The wolf walked down the street to the two ambulances twenty feet behind them. He knocked on the window of the passenger side, and the EMT rolled down the window.

"You'll have to wait it's starting to look like a double homicide, rape," Gorden said with a still slightly shocked tone.

The EMT nodded and put the window back up. Gorden did the same for the second ambulance before he went back to the crime scene.

They all had waited ten minutes before a car pulled up, and out came the detective they were waiting for.

The buffalo walked over to the patrol car and glanced at Darcy, who had his head down while he cried through the muzzle over his face.

"Detective, the area and taped off and the crime hasn't been tampered with," Gorden said wit a stern tone.

"Thanks, officer. Take the Panther back to precinct twenty and have him cleaned up, there's blood all over him," Bogo ordered.

"Yes sir," He replied.

The wolf got back into his patrol car and as he was leaving three more patrol vehicles pulled up.

Bogo pulled a flashlight off of his belt, and he turned it on so he could better see the bodies. Bogo bent down beside Ellie and shined the light on her face. He grabbed his camera and snapped a photo, but while he did, Bogo felt like he knew the dead panther. However, he brushed it off and continued to take pictures of the crime scene until there was nothing left to photograph.

Once he was finished, he pulled gloves over his paws then started to search the bodies. He began with the girl; he went through her pockets until he found a wallet.

Bogo opened it and inside was a black and white photo of her and her family. When he glanced at it, he could've have sworn he knew the two, the photo being much older.

Bogo pulled out her ID and read the name, "Elliot Samantha Davis." His eyes widened as he said, "I do know who this is."

The Buffalo finished searching the bodies and cataloging everything at the crime scene. Once he did, he let the EMTs deal with the dead animals, and he had the Officers clean up the scene.

Bogo got into his car and drove away; he Drove back to his precinct to question the young Panther.

When Bogo walked into the interrogation room, he saw that Darcy was crying. When he noticed he came in, however, Darcy stopped and wiped his eyes while he sniffled. His face and arms were clean, but his clothes still had now dry blood all over them.

"Darcy Davis, I remember you and your sister from years ago, your parents died in a fire," Bogo said while he pulled out a chair before sitting down in it.

"Really, I don't," He replied with a stern tone.

"Look, kid, stop with a tough act, I Know you didn't kill your sister, but I also know you killed that Coyote, a Cordell Payne," Bogo said while he leaned forward.

"I had no choice," Darcy replied.

"I know, but what you did, that was far more than needed, there isn't even head left on him. I don't know how this is going to go down for you," Bogo said still slightly shocked himself that Darcy a kid was able to do such a horrific act.

"You don't know the whole story!" Darcy shot back.

"Then please, son enlighten me," Bogo ordered.

"Don't call me that," Darcy demanded.

"Okay, I won't call you that, now please tell me why you did what you did," Bogo complied.

Darcy sighed trying to calm himself before saying, "O-Okay, I ... I was hit in the head with a rock I-I fell, and he took my sister, I don't know how long I was out, b-but he had enough to time to do ... to."

"You don't have to say the word, I know he did it," Bogo said with sympathy.

"I-I picked up the the rock he used to hit me, I used it on him, but I hit him as hard as I could ...," Darcy said trying to be calm about it. "I went to pick up Ellie, and I tried to wake her up, b-but ... She was gone," he added.

"So you hit his head again?" Bogo stated.

"I hit him again and again!" He replied with anger filling his tone. "I beat his face in with that rock because he deserved it!" He yelled standing from the chair only to have to sit back down because his cuffs were chained to the table. "She was my only family left, and he took her from me," He cried out.

"What about your grandparents aren't they your family?" Bogo questioned.

"They may be related to me, but they aren't my family, Ellie was. So that coyote didn't deserve to live, he deserved nothing less than death!" He yelled.

Bogo didn't know what else to say or ask; he got the information he needed from Darcy, he only worried what was going to happen to him. Bogo knew that he only acted in self-defence then in anger, he just didn't know what to think about the smashing of the coyote's head. It was likely he was already dead before he destroyed his face, however, if he was alive after the first blow then it was murder without self-defence.

"I'll be right back, your grandparents should be here soon, they were called before I came to talk to you," Bogo said as he stood up and headed to the door. "Look, I know what you did feels justified in your eyes, but you went overboard, I want to help you, I don't think you should go to prison for this, but a court might see otherwise. I'll do what I can," He added before closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Chief, I don't believe he deserves to go to prison, he's just a kid who's lost everything, he needs help in more ways than one, I want to help him," Bogo said with a calm tone.

"How? Bogo the evidence shows he killed someone who was defenseless, he, himself said so," The polar bear asked.

"I'm the detective in charge of this case, I don't have to write a report that puts this kid in prison, He doesn't deserve to lose anything else," Bogo answered.

"Bogo you're talking about falsifying a report falsifying evidence, I can have you arrested for telling me you're going to do this," the chief said with a stern tone as he stood up from his chair.

"Sir let me do this if I get caught it will only be my job on the line no one else's," Bogo pleaded standing up himself.

"Why do you have such a connection with this panther?" the bear asked.

Bogo sighed and replied, "I remember him, I was still at precinct one, I got called to a fire along five other officers. That was his house, his parents died in that fire, I had to bring them to the precinct, and I watched him and his sister mourn they had a bond stronger than anything I had ever seen between two kids. Now I see him five years later, and his sister was raped and killed in front of him, he were not in a clear state of mind and did something that any of us would have done. Granted I wouldn't have done it the way he did, but do you think I would let a rapist who killed my wife get away alive?"

The chief walked over to the door to his office, and he said, "Sadly I feel inclined to agree with you if anyone ever tried to hurt my Lilly, I'd end them in a heart beat. I just don't think I can let you do what you're asking me."

Bogo walked close behind the chief, and he said with a calm tone, "Sir I'm only asking because I don't want to do this behind your back, but even if you say no, I'm still going to help this kid."

"Then I won't stop you, but if you get caught I can't ... I won't help you," He replied turning around to face Bogo.

"I won't get caught," Bogo added.

"I believe the conversation is over," The bear said as he walked around Bogo.

"I guess so," He replied as he went for the door knob.

"Thelonius," The chief said suddenly still facing away from Bogo who was facing away from him.

"Yes sir," Bogo calmly said.

"You'd make a great chief one day, maybe even chief of police, but you can't get there if you're running around saving animals from the law you swore to uphold," He said with a stern tone.

Bogo walked a few feet, but before closing the door, he said, "I took an oath to uphold the law, yes, but I also took an oath to protect everyone from that law when it wrongly incriminates them. I will not stand indelibly by and watch this kid go to prison, for trying to save his sister. It's wrong, and I won't let it happen."

The white-furred bear turned around and said, "You're right, but you won't have that belief forever. Bogo you will change, and it won't be for the better, you don't see it now, but darkness, evil changes us, we become the very thing we wished to destroy. You will end up like every other cop in Zootopia, consumed by darkness."

Bogo closed the door most of the way, but before shutting it, he said, "Even if I do, I'm far from it."

Bogo closed the door and left; he went back to the interrogation room where Darcy sat.

He sat down and said, "I can help you, but you have to promise me to do exactly what I say?"

"Okay, I promise," Darcy replied leaning forward over the table.

Bogo placed a file on the table, and he said, "This is how the story now goes when you picked up the rock. You didn't hit him once before going to your sister; you hit him as many times as you did, then you went to your sister."

"How is that going to help me I-I still killed someone?" Darcy questioned.

"Well, there's more, but that will be handled by the lawyer I'm going to get you," Bogo answered leaning back in his seat.

* * *

April 29th, 1989

Bogo sat down on the stand after being sworn, to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.

The kangaroo who was Darcy's lawyer walked over to Bogo and asked, "Detective Bogo, based on your investigation and the evidence is it not clear that the first blow to the head of Cordell Payne would have killed him and that Mr. Davis had no choice, but to kill Cordell Payne?"

Bogo answered, "The examination of the bodies show that Mr. Payne did indeed sexually assault and kill Ellie Davis. Mr. Payne's bodily fluids were found in her ..." Bogo looked to Darcy then added hating to have to say it, "Were found in her Mouth and privates." Bogo cleared his throat and added, "Mr. Davis attacked Cordell to stop him from further hurting his sister. The autopsy indicates that the first blow to the head would have killed Cordell, in fact, tests that were done by me also show that to be proof."

"What kind of tests?" The kangaroo asked.

Bogo again cleared his throat and answered, "I used a Stunt Dummy, and the same rock Darcy used to verify how bad the first blow was based on the positions of everyone at the time of the first hit. I used multiple Stunt Dummies and tested at different speeds, and force used when hitting him the first time, and I came to the conclusion that even if Darcy had hit him with as little as five pounds of force when hitting him the first time, Mr. Payne would have died. I can surely say that he used more tan five pounds of force, I can safely say that based on the condition of the body's head after Mr. Davis had finished, every hit would have had more than ten pounds of force. So yes, Mr. Davis Killed Cordell Payne with the first blow, and he had no choice, but to have hit him the first time."

"Detective, now that we know my client had no choice in what he did, do you believe he should go to prison?" the lawyer asked.

"No, I don't believe he should do time for this. However, I do think Mr. Davis will need therapy to help him deal with the events he has gone through," Bogo answered.

"Thank you, no further questions," He replied. Bogo left the stand, and the lawyer said, "I think it's clear what needs to be done here."

"I feel inclined to agree," The judge agreed. "Mr. Davis will have weekly therapy sessions until no longer necessary," He added before slamming down his hammer into the table.

* * *

May 1st, 1989

Davis now watched as his sister was lowered down into her grave beside their parents.

"When we are weary and in need of strength,

When we are lost and sick at heart,

We remember him.

When we have a joy we crave to share

When we have decisions that are difficult to make

When we have achievements that are based on his

We remember him.

At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter

At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring,

We remember him.

At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer

At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn,

We remember him.

At the rising of the sun and at its setting,

We remember him.

As long as we live, he too will live

For he is now a part of us,

As we remember him, "the pastor said as Ellie was lowered and dirt covered the coffin.

There was no one left he could call his family, no one to save him from the darkness within him. It Would now spread like wildfire, unstoppable, consuming all in its path. The dreams would never stop they only brought more hatred for himself; he had to do something that gave him a sense of forgiveness for the death he had caused, the loss of his sister he felt responsible for. Darcy finished school being looked at like he was someone who feared nothing, s everyone feared him and no one would dare mess with him or befriended him.

Once he graduated, there was only one thing he felt he could do in the world but became a cop. If he were to bring death to the world, he would bring it to the ones who deserved it.

* * *

June 13th, 1994

"Okay, so what it's your first day you'll be fine, you were the top of your class at the academy you have higher scores in everything including detective skills," Darcy said to himself while he drove downtown heading to precinct four his first post as an officer of the law in Zootopia. "You can do this," He again said to himself, before taking in a deep breath.

Darcy pulled up to the precinct, and with another deep breath he turned off his car and got out. Darcy walked in through the front door to the police station; he walked up t the front desk to see a snow leopard sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"Uh ... Hello," He said with confidence.

"Oh hello," She replied leaning forward out of her relaxed position.

"I'm the officer, Darcy Davis," He replied leaning against the desk.

The white furred cat leaned forward with her elbows against the desk and her chin over the top of her paws that cupped her cheeks.

"I'm Astrid, Astrid Villa," She replied.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I can find roll call would you?" Darcy asked with a smirk.

"It's down the hall past the detective department," She replied pointing to her right where the hallway was.

"Thank you," He replied before turning away. However, before he walked away, he turned around and said, "I'll uh ... see you later, maybe when I'm on my break."

Darcy walked away with a smile on his face, he went into the hallway and through the door passed the large area which was the detective department. Darcy opened the door and inside was dozens of animals waiting for their morning briefing from the chief of the precinct, who Darcy had yet to meet.

"Hey who's the new kid?" a wolf asked.

"I'm Darcy, Darcy Davis," He replied as he took the empty seat beside the wolf for himself.

"I'm Neil, pleased to meet you, Rookie," He replied extending his paw to him.

Darcy had shaken it before he asked, "So, who's the chief of this place?"

"You're about to find out," He chuckled looking ahead of him.

Darcy followed by looking in front of him to see a rhino walking in from the left where there was a door.

"Alright, let's get this over with, I'm not in the mood today for any surprises," The chief said as he walked in front of the stand.

"Too late for that sir!" Neil yelled out with a smirk.

The rhino looked to him and noticed an unfamiliar face sitting beside the always joking wolf which he quickly recognized.

"That's hardly a surprise Matthews," The chief replied using the wolf's last name. "I'm aware of Darcy Davis being new here," He added.

"Oh, well I guess that isn't a surprise for you then?" Neil pointed out.

"Matthews, shut up," The rhino ordered.

"Yes Sir," Neil complied as those were the last words he said for the rest of the briefing.

Everyone was given their assignments, except for Darcy who the chief asked to come to his office once he was done with the briefing.

Darcy Knocked on the door, and he heard the deep voice of the rhino say, "Come in Davis."

Darcy followed his order and opened the door.

He walked in to see the chief looking through a bookshelf behind his desk, and he asked, "If you don't mind me asking why have asked me here?"

The Rhino pulled out a book from the shelf, he turned around and placed the book on his desk as he sat down in his chair.

"Hae a seat Davis," He ordered.

Darcy complied and walked forward pulling out the chair, sitting down in it, before pulling it back in.

"You don't know me, and it's unlikely you have ever heard of me, but I know who you are," The chief said with a calm voice as he looked at Darcy making him feel small, for he stared down at him as such.

"Uh, h-how?" Dacy asked.

The chief leaned back in his seat shortening the height distance between one another's eyes before he said, "Cheif Bogo. You knew him when he was still a detective, but three years ago he got a promotion. He told me everything about you at least the things he knew, plus the information from the case files involving you."

"H-He told you about those?" Darcy questioned trying to hide his now nervous thoughts.

"He gave them to me to read for myself," He answered. The chief then leaned forward placing his arms on the desk before he said almost sympathetic for him, "I'm sorry for what happened to you, I can't imagine going through something like that, but I need to know something."

"A-Anything," Darcy replied leaning forward himself.

"I saw the photos of what you did to that rapist; I need to know, that you will only ever use your tranquilizer gun when engaging a criminal, and only ever use combat when there is no other alternative?" He asked with a hard tone.

Darcy fixed his posture and said with a certainty in his voice, "Sir, I don't like killing animals, it's wrong. The only time someone's life should be taken is when you are given no choice, and it is necessary for progress to be made. Sometimes, we have to do things we don't like, and I will try my best not to do that to anyone, but sooner or later I will be giving no choice, and you need to know I will do what needs to be done."

"I hope it never comes to that, and I trust you will honor your word?" He asked.

"Until I die, sir, no one will be harmed by me unless necessary" Darcy restated.

"I'm glad we discussed this, now your assignment, it isn't going to be something bg, I don't want to overwhelm you on your first day," The chief said changing the subject. He grabbed a file from a drawer in his desk and opened it reading it before saying, "You will be patrolling the east end of Savanah Central, get to it, Davis."

"Yes Sir," He replied getting out of the chair and saluting him.

"Please don't do that, we aren't the military," The Rhino asked of him.

"Yes Sir I-I won't do it again," Darcy replied before he walked out of the office seeing the chief pick up the book had was about to read.

* * *

Later that evening Darcy was walking in through the front doors of the precinct to see that the white furred black spotted leopard from earlier that day was still at the reception.

He ran up to her and said with a pleasant tone, "Hello there Astrid, Remember me?"

"I do, Darcy isn't it?" She replied with a smile as she was grabbing her coat from under her desk.

"Y-Yes that's me," He replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Darcy are you okay, I'm not making you nervous am I?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"W-What ... n-no I'm not nervous I-I'm completely calm," Darcy replied unable to hide his unsteady tone or stutter.

Astrid walked around from behind the desk and said with a pleasant tone, "I think I know what is going on here."

She moved up closer to Darcy as he asked, "W-What?"

"Well you ran up here to see me there must me something you wanted to ask me?" She questioned with a smile.

Darcy moved back and said, "T-There was I mean is ... uh ..."

"Well ask me, officer," She implored with a grin.

Darcy thought to himself, "I can't believe I'm doing this." Then he asked, "Do you want to have dinner with me?"

"Of course I'm glad you asked, "Astrid agreed no longer messing with him as she moved back to the desk. She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper; she wrote something down before she gave it to Darcy while she said, "This is my address, meet me there at eight and I will be ready to go to dinner with you, I trust you have a place in kind already?"

"I-I do," he said with a smile and relief that she wanted to go out with him even though they had only met that day.

"I'll see you at eight," Astrid said with a smile as she walked away.

"I-I guess I will," He replied waving to her.

Darcy's heart stopped racing as she left the building and he leaned aginst the reception desk.

"Holy crap," He murmured to himself.

* * *

Later that night Darcy pulled up to the apartment building that Astrid lived in. It was in the just off of Mogul St close to the climate borders of the Rainforest district, Downtown, and Tundratown.

Darcy went inside to get away from the chill of the air in Tundratown, it being something he greatly disliked about the area. He went up to the third floor of the building and straight to the apartment number three-one-five.

Darcy knocked and waited for the door to open when it did Astrid was standing in from of him. Her turquoise eyes, with a dark blue dress wrapping around her with a light blue scarf like a sweater that only covered her from the chest up with a hood that was down. Straying away from it was some more light blue fabric that was attached to the dress going around the whole thing in a spiral motion until it reached the end.

Astrid noticed Darcy gazing at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, so see chuckled beneath her breath and said pleasantly, "How do I look?"

Darcy glanced up at her eyes unable to break contact with them as he said "You, look ... astonishing!"

"Thank you," She replied happily taking the complement. "So, Darcy where are you taking me?" Astrid asked as she pulled Darcy by the paw into her apartment.

"I don't think the restaurant will do you looks justice, Perhaps a change in plans?" Darcy offered still dumbfounded by her beauty.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"I Don't have anything in mind, to be honest, I didn't really think this through I didn't expect you to actually say yes to going out with me when we just met one another today" Darcy replied.

"Oh ... I guess that just means I like you more than what you thought," She replied with a smirk moving closer to him.

"I-I guess, but Now I feel embarrassed, I don't know where to take you with you looking so beautiful, plus what I'm wearing isn't exactly up to par with what you are wearing," Darcy replied as he tried to refrain from watching the leopard.

Astrid noticed this, and she didn't want him to stop, "Darcy ... you don't have to be embarrassed." She moved closer to him, and she placed her paw under his chin making him look at her in the eyes as she said, "And you don't have to look away from me, I wore this dress because I wanted you to look at me like that."

"Y-You did?" He questioned. "I-I mean of course you did, why else would you have e worn such a dress?" He added.

"Why don't we just stay here and have something to eat from my fridge? I just bought some fish, yesterday, and I intended to eat them tonight before you asked me out," Astrid offered.

"O-Okay," Darcy agreed.

Astrid moved away from him, and she walked over to the island in the middle of the open kitchen. She placed her purse on the island and then walked over to the fridge where the fish was. She opened it and took out a plate with two basses that were ready to be cooked.

"Uh, Astrid, I can cook that for you, if you want, I wouldn't want you to ruin that dress while cooking"? Darcy offered.

"How good of a cook are you?" She asked.

Darcy smiled and said, "Well, when I was younger my sister ..." Darcy stopped himself before finishing his sentence for the pain he had forgotten that night came back.

"Darcy, why did you stop?" Astrid asked.

Darcy walked into the kitchen and replied, "Nothing ... i-it's nothing, as I was saying I'm a great cook."

Astrid decided not to ask him about what he stopped himself from saying, for she knew it wasn't her place to ask.

"Well, then I expect you to do a great job then?" She replied with a smile.

"Oh, I will," Darcy implied with a smirk.

* * *

Darcy did indeed do a great job cooking the fish, Astrid loved it. They finished dinner quickly, and Darcy offered to clean the dishes he and hr had used.

"You know if I were you, I would have gone into cooking," Astrid said with a smile as she dried the last plate they had used.

"Well I thought my expertise were better suited for this job over cooking," Darcy replied while he wiped his paws of the water he had on them. "I was the top of my class at the academy on every subject you could think of," He added with a smirk while he patted himself on the back for his accomplishments.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Astrid questioned smirking at him.

"I-I was kind of hoping you would," He replied with a chuckle.

"I guess you were right because that is impressive," She replied moving closer to him. "In fact, I'm almost overwhelmed to be in the presence of someone with such capabilities," She added with a grin.

Darcy pushed back up against the island as Astrid moved close to him. Darcy knew what she wanted, and he couldn't say he didn't want the same thing, but he wasn't sure now was the best time for that.

"Astrid, I don't know if this is the best time to be getting into this kind of relationship we just met," Darcy implored.

"Nonsense, I can tell you want me as badly as I want you, so why hide or avoid the situation"? She asked as he rubbed up against him.

"I-I ...," Darcy said unable to give her a definitive answer.

"You see, you can't back up your claim," She replied as she placed her paws on Darcy's shoulders.

Darcy couldn't resist any longer; he wanted her, the moment he saw Astrid in that dress Darcy wanted to take it off of her.

He gave in saying, "Ah hell, why not?"

Darcy pulled the leopard into a kiss biting on her lip while her paws went from his shoulders to his chest. Darcy twisted around now being on the outside with Astrid pressed against the island; he pulled away from her lips only to smile at her before going in to kiss her next, moving away the light blue clothing to get to it.

Meanwhile, Astrid's paws made their way down to Darcy's jeans, she unzipped them and undid the button on the jeans to reach into his pants. Astrid pulled down the underwear within the pants, and she grabbed hold of him feeling his warmth flee from the inside of his boxers among other things.

Darcy pulled down the zipper on the back of the dress; he stripped it down along with the light blue hood. He kissed her neck closer to her chest, and when he reached her chest, he removed her undergarments.

Astrid undid Darcy's belt, and his pants fell along with his underwear.

"You ready?" Darcy asked while he held Astrid's sides

"Y-Yes," She replied.

Darcy picked up Astrid and set her down on the island. He pulled her dress completely off, and he kicked away his own pants before he pulled off his own white T-shirt. Darcy bent down his muzzle parallel to Astrid's most intimate parts. He smiles before pushing his muzzle into her his every movement of his tongue giving her pleaser. Darcy's experience with such movements made it hard for Astrid to keep quiet, for she quickly hit her breaking point and she squeezed her legs around Darcy's neck.

However, he wasn't done yet, Darcy stood up, and he said with while he wiped his mouth from the fluid that covered it, "Let's add some gravity to this next part."

"W-What?" She questioned as Darcy grabbed her sides.

Darcy pulled Astrid forward, and their bodies met before he pulled her off the island and she fell onto him. Darcy backed up a few feet while holding Astrid; he fell to his knees before leaning forward with her wrapping her legs around his waist. Darcy placed Astrid on the ground, and Darcy started to push himself into her gong back and forth faster and faster. Astrid reached her climax, but Darcy didn't stop, he kept on going, getting slightly faster every fifteen seconds or so.

It took him a few minutes more to reach his climax even then he went on for another minute. Then, when he finished, Darcy pulled away from Astrid, and when he did, his seed squirted out along with other substances from Astrid's body.

"Fuck!" Astrid said almost unable to speak being completely out of breath.

"Hey ... Astrid, you got ... a towel anywhere?" Darcy asked falling beside her on the hardwood floor for he too was burnt out by what he had just done.

"Probably ... but I'm not looking for one right now," She replied.

Darcy stood up after nearly a minute of laying on the cold floor. He looked through a few drawers until he found one filled with folded towels and cloths, Darcy pulled one out, and he used it to wipe his legs among other things.

"Here," He said as he tossed Astrid the towel.

Darcy walked up to her, and he bent down beside her. He smiled then took the towel he threw to her, and he used it to clean her up. Darcy finished drying Astrid then he wiped clean the floor as best he could without using a mop.

He extended his paw to her and said with a kind smile on his face, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" She asked as she stood up.

Darcy picked her up and answered, "Well you do have a bedroom right? So I was going to take you there."

Astrid wrapped her legs around Darcy's waist and replied, "It's down that hall off the living room."

Darcy walked into the living room then through it; he went into the small hallway with two doors one being to a bathroom and the other Astrid's bedroom. Darcy opened the one to the right of him, and he walked in closing the door behind him. He placed Astrid on her bed, and he fell beside her.

"You know, I didn't expect tonight to go like this," Darcy spoke up.

"To be honest same, I was hoping for it, though to be truly honest," She replied.

Darcy turned onto his side and faced Astrid, and he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why would such a beautiful leopard like you want to do this with me?"

Astrid turned onto her side and faced Darcy then she answered, "Well from the moment you walked into the ZPD, I thought you were cute. Then when you came up to me, and you spoke, you were so kind and caring with me with your kind voice, and no one is ever that nice to me, I'm always dealing with jerks you aren't that. I can't find anything bad about you, and that's heartwarming."

As Darcy heard her kind words, his heart broke as he was hit with memories of the horrible things he had done or felt responsible for. However, he didn't show it, and when she said how heartwarming he was, she smiled with happiness no one ever saying such things about him.

Darcy rolled over onto his paws and knees over top Astrid, and he said with a smile and filled with joy as he chuckled out, "You have no Idea how happy it makes me hear someone tell me that ... I'm kind and caring."

Astrid rolled back onto her back and replied, "You're not just kind and caring, you're filled with a joy I haven't seen in a long time, our world is filled with so much darkness, and you bring a light to it."

Darcy just smiled at her kind words, and he kissed her with joy.

However, while they were locked in each other's embrace, Darcy came to a realization.

He broke the kiss with Astrid and said with worry, "Astrid, w-we didn't use a condom!" Darcy moved away from her standing up while he said, "W-We didn't use a condom, w-what if?"

Astrid stood up and placed her paws on Darcy's shoulders and said with reassurance, "Darcy, it's okay."

Darcy looked into her eyes and asked, "H-How?"

"Uh, how do I out this ... I'm ... I'm infertile, I can't get pregnant," She replied glancing away from him.

"O-Oh, I didn't know, I'm sorry," Darcy said trying to hide how relieved he was as not to make her mad.

Astrid sat back down on her bed and said, "It's okay, I found out when I was sixteen, I've lived with it for ten years."

Darcy sat own beside her, and he subtly touched her cheek before saying, "That's not something you just say you've lived with." Darcy placed his paw on her cheek and said with a kind smile and tone, but one also filled with sympathy, "I'm truly sorry, and it's okay for you to hide your true feelings about this, but please if you need a shoulder to cry on then cry on mine."

Astrid smiled back at him, and she asked, "Why am I only now meeting you?"

"I could ask the same question," Darcy chuckled.

Darcy gave Astrid another kiss before he pulled her down with him onto their sides.

"I went this feeling to last forever," Astrid said before she was pulled into another kiss.

* * *

February 14th, 2000

"Hey hon, I'll be home in twenty-five minutes I got you something too," Darcy chirped into his flip phone while he paid attention to the road ahead of him.

"Oh, what did you get me?" She asked curiously.

"Astrid you know I'm not going to tell you, you will just have to wait until you can have me tonight to find out," Darcy replied with a chuckle.

"Okay, I'll see you soon, I love you hon," Astrid said with a pleasant tone.

"I love you too see you soon," He replied.

Darcy clicked the end button on his phone, he went to close it, but when he did, he dropped it near his feet.

"Crap!" He said to himself.

Darc looked at the road, then after making sure there was time for him to reach for his phone, he bent down to grab it. Darcy grabbed his phone and sat back up to look at the road, bu when he did it was too late.

"Oh shit!" He yelled.

Darcy tried to swerve out of the way, but sadly there was no time, he heard a thump as his truck hit the Fox in front of him.

He came to a screeching halt, and the Fox was thrown forward nearly ten feet.

"Fuck!" he said to himself.

Darcy's mind started racing to what was going to happen next. Darcy's mind came to the inevitable ending. He was done for, his career was over, his girlfriend would never forgive him or herself, for them being on the phone when Darcy was driving, his life was going to fall apart.

So, he did the unthinkable, something that his morals would never allow, something only the evil deep within him could do. Darcy pressed on the gas and drove away as fast as he could, he drove around the Fox and his son that was crying for help by his side.

Darcy just kept driving; he didn't stop until he was outside the city limits. He stopped on a side road, and he got out of his truck.

"Mother fucker! What have I done?" Darcy questioned himself.

Darcy went around to see the front of his truck, only to see blood on the front of it along with a few strands of red few stuck in the grill. Darcy ran around back and opened the back to search for a rag when he found one, he took his water bottle and wet the cloth to use it to clean the blood off of the truck.

Darcy pulled out the fur, and he popped the hood to punch out the dent from where the fox's head met with the truck. Fortunately for Darcy that was the only part of the pickup that had a dent.

"Okay, okay, everything is going to be fine," He said to himself as he got back into the driver seat of his truck.

Darcy turned the vehicle back on, and he turned it around racing back home to see Astrid.

He parked in his usual spot beside the apartment building. Darcy got out the heat walloping him, harder than normal, so he grabbed the bouquet of roses he had gotten for Astrid, and he rushed inside going straight to his apartment.

Darcy took a deep breath and washed away all the shock, worry, and negative emotions he could think of before he opened the door saying, "Astrid I'm home!"

As Darcy was about to call out again, his phone rang.

Darcy pulled it from his pocket and saw the caller ID said, "Chief."

Darcy flipped open his phone, and he answered the call saying, "Davis."

The chief spoke, "Detective, I'm sorry to interrupt yo day off with Astrid, but I don't have anyone to spare, there's been a hit and run in the Meadowlands. It was on at the crossing of 2nd ST and Walnut ST; I need you to get there as fast as you can, I already have some officers there waiting for you."

Trying to hide his guilt Darcy replied, "Y-Yes sir, I'm on it."

"Darcy, the victim ... is dead, and he had his son with him," The chief added sounding sympathetic for the kid.

"I-I understand sir, I'll be there as fast as I can," Darcy replied ending the call putting his phone back into his pocket. Darcy went to call out, "Astrid." Then she turned the corner to reveal herself, so he said, "Astrid, there's been a hit and run, a father and son, the father was hit and killed,"

"It's okay Babe, go, it' your duty, and that kid is going to need help dealing with what just happened, go find out who did this," Astrid said with a calmness Darcy desperately needed, that sadly was useless for his guilt was only building as she spoke.

"I will," He replied. "Hey, I uh ... I got you roses," he added showing Astrid the roses.

Darcy passed them to her, and she grabbed them before she said, "Thank you."

"O-Okay, I got to go, I-I'm sorry," Darcy said turning away from Astrid.

"It's okay Darcy," Astrid again stated.

Darcy turned around and closed the door behind him. He left the apartment and got into his second vehicle, a car outfitted with sirens and a caged back seat. Darcy got in and turned it on including the sirens so he could get to the crime scene faster.

Darcy's mind was racing, trying to think of a way to cover up what he did.

"Maybe I'll get lucky, and there won't be any evidence," He thought.

Darcy reached the crime scene, and he got out of his car. He walked over to the scene and under the caution tape put in place around the perimeter of where the fox laid now covered by a blanket so no one could see the body.

"Detective!" A moose said while rushing over the Darcy. "Sir I've already cataloged and photographed the scene, there isn't much Sir," He added.

"How little evidence is there?" Darcy asked faking his concern and hiding his guilt as the two walked.

The officer replied, "Almost nothing, I couldn't find anything to come up with a suspect vehicle. The tire tracks look stander for a pickup, but three different companies use that tried, there was nothing left behind by the vehicle, and the traffic cam is ... well let's just put it this way, it's trash, and I couldn't see anything definitive on it the tape had been recorded over hundreds of times."

"What about the kid, did he see anything?" Darcy asked.

"He's still in shock and couldn't answer anything I asked him," He replied.

"I'll talk to him," Darcy said while he bent down in front of the body. Darcy pulled off the sheet covering the body, and he asked, "Do we have an ID for him?"

"Like I said the kid wouldn't answer my questions, but after I had photographed the scene I searched for the foxes wallet," The most replied.

"And?" Darcy wondered.

"His name is Noah Wilde, he's married I just haven't been able to contact his wife, his cellphone was crushed by the impact with the vehicle that hit him," He answered.

"What about all the witnesses what did they have to say?" He asked.

"They all said the same thing, I truck tried to swerve out of the way of the fox, but ended up hitting him, no one could give me a certainty they knew what kind of animal they saw in the truck. most of them said they couldn't see into the vehicle because of the glare from the sun," He added.

"Good work, I'll finish up here then get his body off the street," Darcy ordered.

"Yes Sir," He complied.

Darcy did what he always did when at a crime, he investigated, but this time it would lead to nothing. Once he finished, Darcy walked over to the kid who was sitting in back seat of an open police car.

"Excuse me," He said with forced sympathy that sounded completely genuine. "Hi, I'm Detective Davis, do you think you could answer my questions, they are essential to finding who did this," He asked as he bent down onto his knees to be more eye level with the small fox.

"O-Okay," He replied with a sniffle as he wiped his eyes from tears he had been crying for nearly an hour.

"Okay, Can you tell me your name?" Darcy asked.

"N-Nick," He answered.

"Okay, Nick, do you think you could tell me what happened?" He asked with a calm tone.

Nick tried to answer saying before bursting out into tears, "T-The last thing I r-remember is a black truck hitting him a-and I!"

"Shh it's okay," Darcy said placing his giant paw on Nick's small shoulder.

Wehn he did, Nick jumped into his arms while he wept. Darcy didn't know what to do, the guilt from being responsible for the death of his father only grew with every moment he spent at the crime scene, then when Nick hugged him while he grieved over his father put him over the breaking point.

"I-It's going to be okay, I'll find out who did this," Darcy promised even though he was flat out lying to him.

Nick broke away from him, and he asked, "C-Can I go home now?"

"Do you know where you live?" Darcy asked.

"Y-Yeah," He answered.

"I'll take you home," Darcy offered. "Officer, I'm done here, there isn't anything else to look for, get this scene cleaned up, I'm taking this kid home!" Darcy ordered an officer who was talking to another cop.

"Yes sir," He complied.

"Okay, come on, My car is over there," Darcy said to Nick pointing to his vehicle that was down the street passed the caution tape.

Nick followed the panther to his car, and he got in the front seat beside him.

"I-I live in Savanna Central o-on Birch St, I don't remember the address, but it's the only apartment building on the street," Nick said answering a question he knew Darcy was going to ask.

"Okay, is your mom there?" Darcy asked.

"Y-Yes, d-does she knows?" Nick questioned.

Darcy started the car, and as he pulled away from the crime scene, he said, "N-No I have to tell her when we get there."

"O-Oh," Nick murmured

The whole time they were driving neither of them spoke top one another for their own reasons. Nick just sat there playing the last moment he saw his father alive while trying not to cry in front of the Detective. Darcy, however, was thinking about how he was going to tell this kid's mother that her husband was killed in a hit and run without breaking down himself from the overwhelming guilt for being the one who did it.

When they reached the apartment building, Nick got out, and Darcy followed him into the building. They went up the stairs to the second floor, Darcy knocked on the door and awaited an answer.

The door opened, and the fox looked up at Darcy, but quickly looked at her son who was having a hard time keeping his tears in.

"W-who are you, Where's Noah?" The worried Fox questioned demanding an answer.

"Mr.s Wilde, I'm Detective Davis, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Darcy replied with his paw on the back of Nick's head.

"W-What happened, where's Noah?" She asked her worry becoming more evident.

"You might want to sit down for this," Darcy replied.

The Fox moved out of the way and let in the large panther who was with hr son. All three of them went into her living room; Nick sat down beside his mother, and Darcy stood unable to sit in the small furniture.

"Mrs. Wilde, I regret to have to inform you that ... that your husband had been killed in a hit and run, I'm sorry," Darcy said with genuine sympathy for her.

"N-Noah, n-no!" She cried out. The broken Fox looked to her son and hugged him as she cried out, "Not my Noah!"

Nick cried with her and Darcy could do nothing but watch as the family he tore apart mourned for her husband, her son's father.

"You find who did this and you bring them to justice!" She demanded.

Darcy didn't know how to answer, so he said the same lie he did to Nick earlier, "Mrs. Wilde, I'm going to do everything in my power to find who did this I promise you." Darcy turned around and started to walk away, but before leaving, he said, "I'll be in contact with you understood."

Then he left and closed the door behind himself. Darcy went back to his car and got in. He sighed then he yelled while he punched the roof of his vehicle putting a dent in it.

"Okay, okay, I can do this," HE said to himself trying to calm down.

Darcy turned his car on and drove away.

* * *

After a few days, Darcy had managed to cover up what he did with certainty no one would ever fond out he killed Noah Wilde.

His final report saying, "The evidence collected from the crime scene plus everything I gathered from speaking to witnesses was inconclusive and wasn't enough to find a suspect. Unless new information comes to light, I rule this case unsolvable. I sincerely regret not being able to solve this case, and the family of the deceased have my sympathy and empathy."

Darcy was home free, but he didn't feel that way. The guilt the pain he caused those foxes was becoming too much for his conscious to handle, so he blocked out his sense of right from wrong to protect himself from any further pain or guilt.

* * *

August 25th, 2000

Darcy's phone rang while he was walking to his car, he had just finished work and was ready to go home to Astrid.

He pulled it out, and it said an unknown number, so he flipped open the phone and answered the call saying, "Davis."

"Hello, Detective Davis, I-I'm sure you remember me, I'm Maggie, Magie Wilde," Maggie said into the phone.

"Mrs. Wilde, Y-yes, of course, I remember you. I-If you don't mind me asking why are you calling me?" Darcy questioned.

"I-I know you couldn't find who was responsible for my husband's death, But I was wondering if you could give me a copy of the file?" She asked hoping he would say yes.

"Mrs. Wilde, you know I can't do that," Darcy replied while he opened the door to his car.

"Please, I know you can get that file, I-I just need to see for myself all the information," Maggie begged.

"O-Okay, I can get you the report, but I have to be with it the whole time, I can't let a civilian have possession of a case file," He finally agreed.

"Thank you so much, You remember where I live, meet me there," She said before ending the call.

Darcy put his phone back in his pocket, He closed the door to his car and went back into the ZPD.

"Detective, you forget something?" The wolf at reception asked.

"Yeah!" Darcy replied walking passed the desk.

Darcy went back to the detective department, and he went straight to his desk. He opened a drawer filled with case files, Darcy pulled out the hit and run case which he had a copy of, and he took it with him. Darcy again walked passed the front reception, and he kept his back to the wolf there so he wouldn't see the file in his paw.

"Have a good night Davis!" The Wolf happily said, waving to him as he opened the door.

"You too Ed," Darcy shouted as the door closed itself behind him.

Darcy went back to his car, and he got in putting the case file on the passenger seat. He turned his vehicle on and pulled out of the parking lot; he drove through the city going straight to the rundown apartment building.

Darcy went right into the building, and to the apartment, Maggie and her son lived in, he knocked and said, "Mrs. Wilde, it's me, Detective Davis!"

She quickly opened the door and said, "Come in Detective, don't worry my son isn't home, he's always gone at night, he doesn't like sleeping here."

"Mrs. Wilde, if you don't mind me asking, why are you investigating this case? You're a civilian and if I couldn't find the one responsible for Noah's death, what makes you think you can?" Darcy asked closing the door behind himself while the headed to the kitchen.

"There is always a way to catch a killer, and I'm going to find who did this," She answered.

Darcy passed her the file and said, "I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think you're going to find him."

"W-What do you mean him?" She questioned looking up at Dacy.

"Uh ... I don't mean anything," Darcy replied his worry starting to show.

"You know something, don't you? There was no known gender, Y-You know who did this don't you!" Maggie yelled.

Darcy tried to calm her and convince her, "Mrs. Wilde, Y-you're overreacting, i-it was a simple mistake with my grammar."

Maggie backed up and yelled, "N-No! You are the one who investigated the crime y-y-ou would know the gender of the driver was never discovered!"

"Mrs. Wilde, please listen to me, no one knows who killed your husband, you need to relax," Darcy said trying to stop her from yelling.

Maggie backed up, she grabbed a knife from her counter, and yelled, "Stay back! Y-You're involved, w-why else would you be so worried?"

Darcy knew there was no lying to her if he did nothing she would go to the authorities and they would reopen the case. He was young, and he had messed up twice now, she had all the proof she needed for another detective to look into the case and incriminate him.

So he broke, and he yelled, "It was an accident! I-I didn't mean to kill him; I'm sorry okay I'm sorry!" Darcy took a breath then he said, "But I can't let you go to the police about this."

"W-What are you going to do?" She questioned becoming worried for her safety.

"What I have to," He replied.

Darcy ran after Maggie, and he grabbed her, he picked her up and made her drop the knife.

"Let me go!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry," Darcy said as he held her with one arm and bent down to pick up the knife she had dropped.

Darcy went into the living room, and he made Maggie sit down on the couch.

"P-Please don't I-I won't tell anyone anything I promise!" Maggie begged for her life.

"You and I both know that isn't true!" Darcy said as he held her arms above her head while she sat on the couch.

Darcy took te knife, and he put it in her paw, he forced her to cut her right wrist, Darcy cut down her arm then he put it in her other paw and did the same to the left making sure not to get blood on his paws. The whole time he cut her she screamed in pain, then he held her in place her paws being by her sides as she bled out in her couch.

Maggie quickly became weak then she lost consciousness, and her head fell forward. Darcy let go of her, and she dropped to her side as her blood began to drip off the end of the couch. Darcy back away and he watched as all life left her body.

Davis justified what he did by believing, that sometimes animals have to die, that for progress to me made some must lose their life. Davis got up from the ground, and he left the apartment making it look like Maggie Wilde committed suicide.

Darcy was consumed by the darkness that lived resided within him, the very same evil that his sister tried to keep away. Darcy was gone, killed by the evil he used to protect his life from destruction, to stop Astrid from blaming herself for Darcy hitting that Fox, now all the remain was Davis, a Panther who became the very thing he hated, someone who could get away with murder.

* * *

 **Funeral Poem Adapted from the Yizkor Service**

 **Hello there, crazy chapter right? Well if you have anything you feel like saying about it please leave me a review.**

 **Anywho**

 **until next time**


	16. The Burden

Chapter Sixteen: The Burden

Our emotions can bring us closer to our friends and loved ones, the ones we hold dear to our hearts. However, they can also be the weapon of our own destruction, if we let what we feel roam free in a world filled with evil, the evil will use it to destroy us. Knowing when to let your feelings show and keep them hidden, is key to beating the darkness.

* * *

"Nick, the last three times we've met you haven't talked to me about your nightmares. Why is that?" The otter asked right before putting down his clipboard which had papers filled with notes about Nick and how he was dealing with the nightmares among other things

Nick sat up subtly scratching his neck before answering, "What is there to tell? T-The Nightmares haven't stopped."

"Do you think you could tell me what they're about?" The Doctor asked hopeful that Nick would speak to him about the very topic that made him seek help.

Nick's mind wondered for a moment while he gazed out the window passed the otter.

"Nick, something is troubling you, more than usual, what is it?" He asked trying to bring Nick back to reality.

Nick snapped out of his trance, and he said with a sudden loud voice, "They always end the same way, every time I fall asleep I see him take her life away."

"See who take her away? Darcy Davis?" Doctor White questioned trying to get Nick to talk to him.

"Don't! call him that," Nick Yelled hating the name, hating what came with that name. "He doesn't deserve to be called by his first name, All he gets is Davis no more," Nick demanded.

"O-Okay, Davis, is he the one in your dreams?" White again asked.

Nick stood up tired of sitting around doing nothing, and he answered with anger and hatred for the nightmares and Davis, "Y-Yes, it always ends with him taking Judy's life. I-I mean how the dream plays out is never the same, b-but she always dies, and it's always by his paw."

The otter picked up his notebook, and while he wrote down his thoughts and what Nick said, he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, have you made any progress with finding this criminal?"

"Not since the last time we spoke, not since I walked him out of the ZPD," Nick replied slightly angered by his answer wishing he could have found something in the time he's been on the loose planning his next move.

"He's a very elusive Animals isn't he?" Docter White had added before he put his notebook down beside him.

Nick stopped pacing back-and-forth, and he again took his seat across from the Otter, and he said while he tried to calm his emotions, "I'm afraid so, I can't figure him out, why he's doing all this? Why he says its all for me and that I will understand when the time comes."

Nick and Doctor White had talked some more before they finished their session; Nick went home to his wife wanting to be with her as much as he could. However, they no longer lived in the apartment they had called home for so long. Judy couldn't bare living in a home that reminded her of the pain she went through at the paws of Davis. So, they packed up and moved. Since Nick was now a detective, he got paid more, enough to afford a more expensive apartment, one in between Downtown and Savanna Central.

Nick opened the door to the sixth-floor apartment, and he said with joy in his tone, "Oh Carrots I'm home!"

Nick walked into the spacious room which had a transition in the floor from oak hardwood to black Montauk tile half way through to indicate the change from living room to the kitchen.

Judy got up from the couch on the wood side, she put her phone in her pocket, and she gave Nick a hug and a quick kiss before she asked, "So, how was your day?"

Nick picked Judy up in his arms and twirled around landing on the couch behind him before he said with a smile, "I think you could say today was a good day."

Judy smiled and asked with a subtle giggle as Nick's paws touched her sides making her squeal, "Oh, yeah, how come?"

"Well for starters I didn't get any new cases, and Live and I closed three old ones too," he answered with a smile before giving Judy another kiss.

"Hmm, I would say that lands in the category of good days," Judy replied with a smirk.

"Well Carrots every day is a good day, every day I'm with you, is a good day," Nick chuckled out.

"I feel compelled to agree with you," Judy grinned before she tapped Nick's nose with her finger.

Nick turned over, Judy now being under him while he hovered over her with a smile. Nick gave Judy a kiss before he tickled her sides making her laugh hysterically.

"N-Nick ... s-s-stop!" She laughed out.

"Awe come on Carrots you know you love this," Nick grinned while he continued to tickle his wife.

Judy broke free from him, and she pushed him onto his back, and she said, "You lose Wilde."

Judy started tickling Nick, and they both laughed while she did it.

"Carrots!" Nick exclaimed. "Y-You're more wild than me," he added while he tried to hold in his laughter.

"I think it comes with the name," She chuckled out not letting up on tickling him.

Judy had smiled with passion before she stopped touching him in places that made him laugh then she subtly brushed Nick's muzzle before she kissed it fro a brief moment before breaking away.

"So what you're saying is," Nick said glancing to the side before he turned his eyes back to gaze into Judy's purple eyes adding with a grin, "I make you wild?"

"Yes, yes you do," She replied kissing him again.

The two lovers kept on kissing one another, Judy would kiss him on the lips, neck, and his one ear. Nick would do the same, but he also nibbled on the ends of her long ears as well as rubbing his scent into her neck by caressing the side of his face into her fur. He did this almost every time they were intimate so Judy would know she was his that he and she were mates, husband and wife regardless of all the pain they went through, the pain they were going through.

Nick stopped for a brief moment only to say, "Why don't we take this somewhere a little more ... comfortable."

"hmm ... no," Judy replied bluntly with a smirk of passion and subtle lust, wanting Nick there and now, to ease and distract her from any pain she felt only feeling the touch of the red fox she loved.

"What, w-why not?" Nick ask his life still on top of him

Judy looked into Nick's glimmering green eyes, and she said with order and demanded, "I can't wait any longer. I've missed this feeling for so long; I want to do this right here right now, on the couch, no exceptions."

"Yes mam," Nick complied willingly letting his wife make the choice of where they did it for the first time in what felt like weeks, always being so busy or tired to comfort her, but not tonight, tonight they made love.

The two lovers stripped one another down to nothing, and they did what they only ever wished to do with each other.

* * *

Nick got up from the bed they had moved to after giving one another pleasure. Still naked he went into the bathroom across the hall that branched off from the living room side of the large part of the apartment.

Nick turned on the light and then the tap to wash his face with warm water. He splashed his face then grabbed the towel hanging on a small hook bolted to the wall. Nick dried his face and turned off the tap. Then he looked into the mirror looking at himself. Nick's eyes showed how tired he was, working twelve if not more hours a day sometimes having to leave in the middle of the night because a crime was committed. Then there was the fact that he didn't get as much sleep as he used to, the nightmares making him only get twenty hours of sleep at most in a seven day week.

Nick turned his head to have a look at his left ear, the tissue had healed, but the damage was irreversible, the outside was now rigid and disfigured. He could still hear noise from the ear, the damage only being on the ear itself not the inside of it.

Nick ran his index finger across the new edge feeling every bump and curve of it. He hated what it made him look like; animals always gave him a strange look because of it. If Nick was wearing his belt with his badge and gun hooked to it, and they could clearly see it, animals would give him a "he must be a hero" look, which he hated because he didn't feel like a hero anymore after what happened with Davis. Nick wouldn't accept the title of hero or anything until Davis was caught. Then there was when he was wearing civilian clothing, and he didn't have his badge and gun attached to him that everyone gave him the sympathy look, and Nick hated that too. He didn't want anyone's sympathy for what happened to his ear, for it wasn't something that he felt deserved a sympathetic look.

This wasn't the only scar he had, during a foot chase, a raccoon tackled him and scratched his arm more than once, now the whole bicep on his left arm was covered in scars from the dozens of slashes inflicted upon him that day.

Nick also had a scar on his back; it went from an inch close to his tail half way up his back. It came from a fall he had while in a fight on a rooftop with a grizzly bear who knew Davis. Nick had lost the battle being thrown across the roof his back getting slashed by a sharp piece of metal. Though he lost the battle, the bear decided to take his life saying, "That Davis would kill him if he ever fond out that Nick Wilde discovered him." so, taking his life seemed the best way to avoid a brutal death by the paws of Davis. The bear jumped off the twelve story building and feel to his death. The one thing he couldn't figure out is why he never killed Nick and only injured him.

Nick flipped the light switch for the bathroom light, and he closed the door behind him. He went back into the dark bedroom, and he laid down beside his wife. Judy still being slightly awake only being woken up further by Nick moved closer to him, and she snuggled up next to him. She placed her paw on his chest, and she twirled his fur wth her finger.

Nick looked at her Paw, half the size of his, the scar from when the Doctor reattached her finger could no longer be seen. Nick was glad that it couldn't be seen, for every time he saw it, it only reminded him of what Davis did to her.

Nick grabbed Judy's paw, and he intertwined his fingers with hers before he pulled it closer to his muzzle and kissed it. This was the moments he longed for, sadly, they were becoming hard to find, with the duties on his shoulders plus his nightmares and Judy's migraines there just wasn't enough time not spent doing something else to spend laying in bed in each other's arms doing nothing but loving one another.

"How did it all fall apart?" Nick would think to himself time and time again never truly understanding why their lives did. "What did Judy or I do to deserve all this pain?" Would go through his head every time he thought about anything that terrible happened to them.

Nick threw his left arm around Judy, and he said with a soft tone, "Carrots ... we never ate dinner."

"I wasn't hungry, were you?" Judy replied looking up at Nick trying to see him in the little light.

"Apparently not hungry enough to remember to eat," Nick chuckled. Nick glanced at the clock on the night table then he added, "Besides it's past midnight anyway, I think we can wait until breakfast."

"Are you sure I can make you something?" Judy offered not wanting to leave Nick hungry.

Nick smiled, and he said with it fading slowly, "Judy, you don't have to do anything for me, I just want you to get some rest, I don't want you to trigger a migraine." Then he gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "I'll be fine."

"You worry too much," Judy said tapping Nick's nose with her free paw.

Nick chuckled briefly before he replied, "Carrots I have to worry enough for the both of us because you don't worry enough about yourself."

Just as Judy was going to replay Nick's phone rang.

"Oh god, what does the ZPD want with me now?" Nick questioned annoyed that he was getting a phone call so late.

Nick let go of Judy's paw and reached for his phone on the night table, he clicked answer and put the phone to his ear immediately hearing Olivia say, "Nick ... there's been a ... I'm sorry, but there's been a murder."

Not wanting to get out of bed, Nick questioned Olivia's ability to handle such a horrific crime, "Live, can't you handle that on your own? You're fully capable of investigating a death, and I was planning on spending some time alone with my wife, you know I don't get much of that any-."

Olivia spoke over Nick's voice and said agitated, knowing he would want to hear what she had to say, "It's not a civilian ... Nick, it ... it was the cadet, Reese Murdock, the fox from that class you gave a speech to a few months ago. T-The one you told me you wanted to train, h-he was found at the precinct ... our precinct."

Nick's eyes widened in pure shock, as he minds raced to conclusions, "Why him, h-he was just a kid? I-It must have been Davis."

"Nick are you still there?" Olivia asked as the ever-growing silence worried her that he had left the phone.

"I-I'll be there as fast as I can," He replied his voice unsteady ready to burst out into pure rage and hatred, then quickly turn into mourning.

"Nick, I ... I'm sorry ...," Oliva spoke up voice filled with nothing but sympathy for him, for she knew how much the cadet meant to him how close he had gotten while personally trying him to be a cop.

"S-So am I," He replied with a creak in his tone for he was ready to cry.

Nick ended the phone call, and Judy having heard the conversation do to her sensitive hearing she knew what had happened, so she sat up and placed her paw on Nick's chest, and said, "It'll be alright, I'm here when you need me I'm here."

"I-I have to go," He muttered, doing all he could to hold back the pain e felt from this loss.

"I'll be here when you get back. I always am," Judy replied with empathy in her eye's and tone, knowing full well what he was going through, having gone through it all with the chief, his wife, were murdered and then when Clawhauser died in the second explosion set off by Davis.

Nick climbed out of bed and searched for his clothes realizing they were still in the living room from their prior engagement in such pleasure and happiness that had to be cut short.

Judy wanted nothing but to help Nick. However, she couldn't build up te courage to do what was needed to mourning.

Nick reached for the door still in his naked form, but before he left the room to get dressed he said, "I love you ... Judy, I'll be back as soon as I can, I-I promise,"

"I love you too Nick, be safe, and Nick, find him," Judy replied making it evident that she too suspected Davis behind this killing.

Nick nodded then he closed the door behind himself, Nick rushed to the living room, and he began to grab his clothes. He put on his underwear and brown pants, he pulled the belt through the loops then attached his gun and badge to it. Then Nick grabbed his white undershirt pulling it over his head. He grabbed the rest of his brown suit which he had gotten fixed on many occasions. He pulled it over his body covering his scarred arm. Once Nick was dressed he rushed out of the apartment and to the lift, he got in, and took it down to the basement parking. Nick ran to his car and got in.

It was relatively new Dodge Challenger, black with no markings, but outfitted with police lights that were hidden within the grill of the car.

Nick turned it on and drove out of the parking lot; he rushed through the streets going as fast as he could to ZPD precinct one, sometimes breaking the speed limit himself, for the streets were nowhere near as congested at night as they were during the day. Once he got to the ZPD, Nick parked in front of the entrance, and he ran inside to see a dozen cops scanning the area and cataloging everything down to the cup of coffee sitting on the reception desk.

Nick searched for the red furred wolf he had been working with for quite some time now. He looked around finally finding her standing near the elevator with three much larger officers, most likely discussing what to do next. He ran up to her slowing as he neared her.

Olivia excused herself from the conversation, and she walked up to Nick who she had noticed running up to her.

"Nick, I'm sorry," She said with sympathy wishing what she had to say or show him had never had happened.

Nick stared down then back up before he said one word, "How?"

"I-It's best if the M.E explains it, he has the ... he has Reese in the basement, he's performing the autopsy," She replied still not giving him the answer he desired.

"Then let's talk to him," Nick suggested, flat toned while hiding all the emotions he was feeling even good ones if there were any to show.

The two red furred animals walked into the elevator and took it down to the basement. Once the lift doors opened the two walked out and headed for the double door entrance to the morgue where the M.E was.

"Ah Olivia," The British-accented deer said suddenly seeing her walk in. "I've ...," He continued to say only to stop himself when he saw Nick walk in. "Detective Wilde, I presume you're here to know what happened to our poor friend here?" The M.E asked.

Nick along with Olivia walked into the room feeling the temperature drop quickly because of the cold storage in the autopsy chamber. The two walked up to the deer who had just begun his autopsy of the body which was covered by a white blanket.

Having a slight unsteady tone, Olivia said, "D-Doctor Sharp, please uh ... informed Detective Wilde h-how cadet Murdock was ... was killed." Not wanted to see the body for the second time Olivia said before walking away, "I-I'll be outside the doors waiting."

Olivia walked away quickly heading for the doors.

"Go ahead," Nick said to the M.E. hiding his anger well enough to have a soft tone while speaking.

Sharp looked at Olivia until she was out of sight then he said unpleasantly backed by his British accent, "Sir, I-I hate to say it, but this ... this wasn't a painful death, it was pure torture." The deer pulled the white sheet that covered the body away, revealing the full extent of the pure torture he had been through, "W-Whoever did this clearly wanted him to suffer needlessly. They poured what I determined to be Hydrochloric acid all over his arms and legs, for the damage to be as extensive as it is, they must have continuously soaked the limbs for long periods of time. The fur and skin or gone along with nearly seventy percent of his muscle tissue," He said with sympathy while he pointed to the arms and legs of the victim. "Why they would do such a horrific thing to him is beyond me. Sadly, however, that wasn't how poor cadet's life ended," He added not liking what he had said.

Nick pointed to the body seeing cuts covering the body of the fox, and he asked, "was it these?"

The M.E replied, "Unfortunately ... yes, he was continuously cut until there was no more blood to spill from his body. It made it very hard to determine a time of death before the body was already beginning to shut down from the lacking of blood in his system. Might I add it was extremely painful, almost as bad as the acid."

"How could he have done this?" Nick asked himself.

"There's ... there's something else," He added knowing that Nick was not going to like what he had to show him.

"What is it," He asked almost demanding an answer.

The Deer turned over the body and showed Nick the cadet's back, before he answered him, "You see these cut, they ... they spell your name."

Nick looked at the cut and saw it spelled out, "Wilde."

"Detective do you have any idea who did this to him?" The Deer asked practically begging for an answer.

"I do ... it was Davis ... Darcy Davis. He's back!" Nick replied letting his anger show ever so slightly. "I want you to examine the body to the last detail. I don't want anything to be missed; not a single stone will be unturned!" Nick ordered.

"Y-Yes Detective," Doctor Sharp complied knowing full well what Davis could do having been one of the M.E's that had to examine bodies from the bombs he had set off.

Nick pushed open the door that led out of the large room, and Olivia was waiting there for him, and she asked, "Nick, a-are you okay?"

He stopped in his tracks, he turned around and yelled, "How can you ask that? How can I be okay? Davis is back, and he just killed a kid in cold blood for what? To spell my last name on his back with cuts!" Realizing he had let out his anger Nick took a breath and said with a calmer voice, "Davis has taken too many innocent lives I have to stop him. We have to put him away for the rest of his life, for everyone's sake he has to be stopped."

Oliva placed her paw on Nick's shoulder, and she said, "I know you want to stop him, trust me I do too, so does everyone else in this city, but you can't be in this case."

Nick backed away from Olivia, and he said, "I'm not about to let my personal feelings toward this case stop me from investigating it!"

"Don't you see that's what he wants. If Davis is the one behind Reese's death then he knows you will be taking the lead," Oliva replied trying to keep herself calm like Nick would normally be doing every second on the job, unlike now where he was letting his rage and hatred for Davis flow right out of him. "He won't expect you to not take the lead in this case; he won't be prepared for me making to decisions," She added.

Nick again took in a breath and retook control of his emotions before he replied, "Maybe you're right."

Olivia had smiled subtly before she said, "Thank you." Olivia again moved closer to Nick placing her paw on his shoulder as she said, "You're still on the case, but I'm in charge. For now, I want you to go home to your wife, get some rest you need it, come back with a clear head you're never like this."

Nick grinned slightly, and he said, "That's because I'm usually the one telling you to clear your head and control yourself."

"Alright enough of that," Olivia said with a chuckle.

The two took the lift to the main floor, and they both got out Nick leaving the building and Olivia staying to take the lead in the investigation.

Olivia walked into the main lobby and stood in front of the entrance before she said with an order in her tone, "Alright! Everyone listen!"

All the officers and the few detectives there stopped what they were doing and turning to the face the main entrance where Oliva stood awaiting everyone's attention.

"Good," She said to herself before continuing to say with an order, "As you all know we still don't have someone in charge of this precinct. Due to the ministration not being able to find a suitable replacement for Cheif Bogo and Eric short, everything involving this case goes through me first! Understood?"

"Yes, sir! understood, detective!" Multiple officers complied.

"Good, now as you all are aware there is a criminal on the loose, he was once one of us, a detective, but he's responsible for hundreds of deaths across the city mainly the two bombings from last year. He is suspected to be behind this murder of the cadet; I want the whole precinct cataloged and searched for anything out of the ordinary, the slightest change in anything must be recorded and put into the reports. We've all seen what he can do, so no mistakes." She said with a stern tone.

Everyone agreed with her and went on to do what she asked of them.

Olivia now had the unfortunate task of having to inform the cadet's parents of his death, and it was never something she took a liking to. In fact, it was her least favorite part of the job.

Olivia had gone to her car and drove to the home of Reese's parents which was in Sahara Square. Olivia stopped the car in front of the home the sirens lights flashing, but without sound. She got out of the car and went up to the front door, she knocked and awaited an answer.

The door opened, and standing head height with the small red wolf was a red vixen with worry in her eyes, wearing her nightgown for she was about to head to sleep.

"Something has happened hasn't it?" She asked her eyes widening at the sight of the detective standing at her front door.

"Mrs. Murdock, may I come in?" Olivia asked sounding sympathetic for her knowing what she was about to tell her was going to crush her.

The Fox let her in, and she closed the door behind her.

"Is your husband here?" She asked.

"Y-Yes," She replied. "I-I'll go get him, y-you can wait in the living room," She added with her tone quickly becoming brittle.

Olivia walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. While she waited, she did what Nick taught her to do whenever he was in a situation that made him uneasy. Oliva closed her eyes and started to take in deep breaths in and out slowly only thinking about the good and not the bad while she said to herself in her mind, "no evil no bad only good, no evil no bad only good ..."

After a few minutes, two foxes came into the living area, and they sat down on the opposing side of the L-shaped couch. Olivia stopped what she was doing and opened her eyes to see the two foxes sitting across from her.

"Detective what has happened is our son alright?" The father asked worried for his son's well-being, knowing that it had something to do with him

Olivia leaned forward her arms leaning on her lap while she said with great sympathy, "Mr. and Mrs. Murdock, I ... I'm afraid to have to inform you that ... that your son has been murdered."

The mother pulled her husband into a hug while she cried out, "Oh, Garrett, our son!"

"Shh, it will be alright Annabell, it'll be okay," He replied hugging his wife with tears in his own eyes, doing nothing to hide them.

"W-Who did this?" She cried out.

"A panther his name is Darcy Davis, as far as we know there is no connection between him and your son," Olivia replied.

"Y-You mean that monster who set off those bombs?" Garrett asked his voice filled with anger.

"I-I'm afraid so," She answered saddened that it was true. "Your son was a top cadet, and my partner Detective Wilde who's also a Fox had taken a liking to him. He was meeting with him once or twice a week to help him with training and studying; he wanted to see him succeed. I'm sorry this happened to you, your son was going to be an excellent ZPD officer," She added with sympathy for the two foxes.

Annabell continued to cry into her husband's shoulder, and he begged, "You stop the monster who did this, please stop him."

"I will do what I must," She replied.

"Thank you," Annabell said with a sob.

Olivia looked down at her feet then back up at the two broken foxes before she said, "I'm also afraid to tell you, that ... that you're going to need to come and identify the body of your son. It has to be done for the record to show that it is him."

Olivia knew how bad the body's condition was, and she hated that they had to see their son like that, but whether they saw the body or not was a choice she couldn't give them.

"You don't have to come tonight, come to Precinct one in the morning, there won't be as much of a commotion," She added before standing up from the couch. "I'm truly sorry for what happened," She said with genuine sympathy for them. Olivia stopped beside the two grieving foxes, and she passed Garrett a piece of paper with a phone number on it before she said, "If you have any information, or you're contacted by someone other than me, call me immediately."

Olivia walked out of their living room; she left through their front door closing it behind her. She went back to her car and drove away heading back to the precinct. She went to her desk in the detective department on the second floor of the ZPD, and she opened one of the files that were filled with everything one of the officers cataloged.

The tired Wolf started to look through all the photos and notes for each one of the pictures. Every time she began to feel her energy nearing empty she would go to the break room and get a cup of coffee. By the end of the night, she had drunk a dozen cups of coffee, to keep herself awake and alert.

"The body was no doubt dumped here, and he was killed somewhere else," She said to herself while writing down notes. "All I need to do is find out where he was murdered and I can get a whole lot further with this case," She thought to herself with optimism. "Now, where to start?" She asked herself.

Olivia searched and searched, but she couldn't find what she was looking for, mainly because she didn't know what to look for. Everything only led her to more frustration, and ever growing anger, however, she was learning from the best in how to mind her thoughts and control her anger for the situation or criminal she was dealing with. It was something she was glad Nick was able to learn, she had learned to some extent too, but she was unsure how Nick ever managed to keep himself together for so long while being tired, for she was at her breaking point.

"Maybe I should call him in, a fresh mind may be of some help," She told herself falling back into her chair letting her arms go limp from the exhaustion she was trying to stop from taking over her.

After just a few seconds she found herself dozing off, so Olivia snapped herself out of it and stood back up. She went to the restroom and splashed cold water onto her face; then she dried it off before pulling out her phone, she called up Nick and awaited an answer.

The ringing stopped, and Olivia heard the voice that was always able to calm her down even if he didn't mean to, Nicks calmness and ability to control his emotions almost always, brought peace she had never had before.

"Live, you finally calling for my help?" Nick asked with a somewhat morning voice.

"Wait, Nick, did you actually sleep tonight?" Olvia asked her eyes widening at the sound of grogginess as if he was resting.

"No, I just fell asleep an hour ago, you woke me up, I should thank you, it doesn't take long for bad things to start happening," Nick replied with a grin Olivia knew he had painted on his face even though she couldn't see him.

"Well to answer your question, yes I do need your help, I need a fresher mind, despite you not sleeping too much," Olivia replied while she looked at her tired eyes in the mirror.

"Well, when you get less than twenty hours of sleep a week for as long as I have you tend to get used to it. I've heard that some animals have created a sleep pattern that reduces their need for sleep from ten hours a day to less than five," The Fox said it still being evident that he was grinning.

"Yes, but you're getting even less than that, now get down here, I need your help," Olivia stated wth order.

"Jeez, when did you become the boss?" Nick asked with a chuckle. "Alright I'll be at the ZPD shortly," Nick added no longer joking with his friend.

Nick ended the call, so Olivia put the phone back into her pocket, and she left the restroom, going back to her desk to wait for Nick.

Nick and Olivia had become great friends. Olivia considered him to be her best friend. However, she couldn't say the same for Nick. Ever since Nick found out that Davis was behind the death of his father, and that his mother didn't commit suicide and that in fact she was also killed by Davis, he had changed. It wasn't a big change, but it was there, it wasn't one that she could say was bad rather it was good. Olivia hadn't known him for very long before Nick found out the truth and most of that time was spent with Nick feeling like he had failed to save his wife. However, there was a change, she noticed it, and so did all of the officers at the ZPD. It was like a burden or self-hatred was lifted from him, It was something Olivia had yet to ask him about, and she wondered if he had told anyone about it, even his wife.

* * *

"Live wake up," Nick said suddenly. "Live!" He exclaimed purposely spilling a drop of water onto the sleeping wolf's head.

She quickly got up and looked at Nick with annoyance.

She wiped her eyes and saw Nick had a paper water cup from thew water machine, so she asked, "are you telling me you went to the water machine and got a cup of water just to drop some on me?"

"I wasn't telling you anything, but yes I did," He answered with a grin right before he drank the water from the small paper cup, tossing it into the recycling near his and Olivia's desks. "So, what is it you needed my help so badly on?" Nick asked leaning aginst Olivia's desk.

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it I can't figure out where Reese was killed before his body was dumped here. For that matter, I can't figure out how they got his body in the ZPD," She replied sitting back down in her chair placing her paw on her head rubbing it slightly.

"You did check the security cameras right?" Nick asked half sincere with his question.

"What you take me for an idiot?" Olivia asked with forced shock at the question. "I had a couple of officers look over them, somehow the footage from two hours after and before the discovery of Reese's body wasn't recorded, the tapes are empty for that time," She answered slightly aggravated by what she was saying.

"So it was erased?" Nick asked.

"N-No, all the cameras in the in the Precinct were on catching footage, there just wasn't anywhere for it to be stored, someone made sure of that," She replied standing back up from her chair. Olivia could no longer help herself, she lost her control, and she yelled out almost full on punching her desk stopping herself just shy of a few millimeters, "This is impossible!"

Nick grabbed the frustrated wolf's wrist, and he said calmly, "Live, relax, I know a lot is riding on this case, that the animals involved need to be brought to justice. Trust me, I know, but if we lose our control over ourselves as I did earlier, we won't be able to investigate this case with a clear head." He let go of her wrist and said with a subtle smile, "Calm yourself, try and let go of the anger and frustration you have involving this case."

"I don't know how you do it," She said grabbing her left wrist with her right paw. "Davis killed so many, he manipulated someone into killing the chief and his wife, he murdered his ex-wife and his girlfriend, Davis set off two bombs that killed over fifteen hundred animals inclouding Benjamin Clawhauser, he kidnapped your wife! Nick, he killed your parents when you were a kid!" She exclaimed making half a dozen officers and detectives look at her for a brief moment before going back to what they were doing.

"Not here Live," Nick ordered.

"Then where, Nick? You don't ever talk to me about what you've been through; I'm your partner I need to know that you're alright. You hide what your feeling to do your job better, but that doesn't mean you're okay," She replied walking ever so slightly closer to him.

Nick took the worried wolf by the paw and led her out of the detective department, he took her to the chief's office which was still empty, and he shut the door behind them.

"You really want to know?" Nick asked calmly.

"Yes," She begged, wanting to be answered.

Nick sighed and replied, "Davis has killed so many we all know that he's caused pain to thousands with what he did to this city. The pain he's caused the police force by having someone kill the chief and his wife."{ Nick paused before he added, "He's killed so many of my friends, but that's no longer where I see or feel the pain."

"Then where?" She asked.

Nick turned away from Olivia, and he said, "Everyday I go home, and I see my wife that is where all the pain is. After what Davis did her she couldn't bear to live in that apartment, so we moved to where we live now, ever since we got there she hasn't left." Nick turned around and faced Olivia his anger and pain slowly becoming free as he spoke, "Judy is too afraid to leave our home because of what he did to her. She quit this job because she lost who she was, Judy is broken, torn apart by what Davis did to her what he did to all of us. She has migraines almost every single day because he tortured her. Do you have any idea what it does to me to come home to my Judy and see her in so much pain that she can't even stand up or leave our bedroom because the light hurts her!" Olivia went to speak, but Nick cut her off with his question, "Do you know why I still don't sleep, why my nightmares stop me from sleeping?"

"N-No," She answered.

"Because of what they do to her!" He exclaimed. "It's bad enough that I see my wife die by the paws of that panther every time I close my eyes. But to wake up in a cold sweat with pure fear in my eyes and to have my broken wife who can barely stand half the time try and calm me down while I cry! Not only for what I've seen in my dreams but for what I'm seeing while she tries to be there for me while she's in constant pain!" He cried out with anger and hatred for all the evil and bad that surrounds his and Judy's life.

"Nick I'm-," Oliva went to speak only again being cut off by Nick who was far from finished.

"The only good thing that Davis has done was admit that he killed not only my father but my mother!" He yelled out with tears in his eyes. Nick took in a breath and tried to calm himself before he said, "I blamed myself for nineteen years, I blamed myself believing that my mother took her life for what I had become. When Davis told me he killed my parents, it filled me with rage, yes, but I felt a sense of relief knowing my mother didn't take her life because I had become so cold hearted, so detached from her. That it wasn't because I was never home to be with her when she needed me when she needed my shoulder to cry on when she grieved my father's death. I was finally able to be relieved of that burden. What he did to them will still forever make me hate him, but if I were to need to thank him, for one thing, it would be that he finally told the truth and that I no longer have to carry the thought that my mother killed herself ... because of me."

"I'm sorry Nick, I didn't know," Olivia said trying to avoid eye contact.

"How could you have known any of that? I only ever told Judy how I felt; she is one of the very few animals I trust with my emotions." Nick calmly replied. He walked up to Olivia and looked her in the eyes while he said, "Everywhere else I hide my feelings, all of them and I joke around to keep them hidden, if I don't I will break down life I have here. That's why you don't know, that's why no one knows because then it can't be used against me."

Olivia went to open the door while she said, "I-I'm sorry Nick, I should have just minded my own business."

Nick stopped her by grabbing her shoulder, and he said while she completely froze, "It's okay ... live, I'm the one who needs to be sorry for yelling at you. I should have more trust in you; you're a good friend and partner, remind me of Judy actually."

Olivia didn't say it, but she was overjoyed to hear Nick compare her skills to that of his wife's.

Olivia turned around and said with a subtle smile, "Thank you." Then she added her tone becoming one of normalcy for what they were about to do, "We should get back to work,"

"Yes, yes we should," Nick agreed following Olivia out of the empty office.

"The two headed back to their desks, and Olivia passed Nick some of the case reports from the cataloging of the precinct.

As the two began to search through the reports looking at all the photos of literally everything in the ZPD Nick began to wonder.

"Live," He said suddenly there being no discussion for nearly ten minutes.

"Hmm," She answered.

Nick dropped his feet from his desk the chair flinging forward from the leaning position; He stood up and asked, "What was it you said about the camera footage?"

Olivia placed the photo she had in her paw down on her table, and she replied while thinking herself, "oh uh ... I said it was recording the whole time, but the digital storage devices that were supposed to hold the information were ejected. None of the footage could be saved, so it just recorded into oblivion."

"Like the USB's were pulled out of the slots?" He asked leaning aginst Olivia's desk.

"Y-Yeah," She replied. "What are you getting at here?" She asked standing up from her seat.

'Someone had to have been here to pull them out then put them back in," He replied.

"So someone or Davis was inside the ZPD and pulled them out, then came back in and put them back in," She said to herself quickly while her eyes wandered in thought. "But that means ...," She said out loud her eyes focusing on Nick who was smirking.

Nick's grin faded as he said, "No one who wasn't a police officer could have been in here to put them back in; the whole precinct was on lock down. Someone in the ZPD is working for Davis, willingly or unwillingly."

"Or unconsciously," Olivia added out of the blue. "Well, I mean ... not unconsciously like mind control. I-I mean like what happened with that wolf Jason, who killed the chief and his wife, Jason was manipulated by Davis into thinking Bogo was the one who committed the crimes he was accused of and that he deserved to suffer for what he believed he did."

"I-I know what you mean, besides that, if we find who this is, we can find where Reese was murdered," Nick replied with certainty that they would succeed.

"Okay, then let's ...," Olivia said suddenly stopping herself.

Nick looked at her, and with the puzzled tone, he asked, "Live what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing, it's just ... Reese's parents are here," She replied looked passed Nick at the two foxes who were walking into the department from the hallway that led to the stairs.

Olivia walked passed Nick who ended up following her to meet the two foxes.

"Mr. and Mrs. Murdock," Olivia said with a calm tone.

Nick walked up beside Olivia, and he said with sympathy, "I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Are you Detective Wilde?" Annabell asked with tears in her eyes.

"I-I am ... Yes, I'm Nick Wilde," He answered while he held everything back.

"Tell me, you were the one helping him become a cop, training him to be the top of his class?" Annabell begged wanting an answer.

"Y-Yes, I was," Nick replied unsure what she was going to say next if she was going to blame him or thank him for being his friend.

"Was he happy?" She asked. "We hadn't spoken to him in nearly six months, was he happy?" She again asked.

"H-He was, he told me he didn't want to go home without a ZPD badge on his belt, it's one of the reasons I wanted to help him," Nick replied with a subtle smile. "He was happy; I can assure you that," He added finally answering her question.

The vixen threw herself into her husband's arms and said to him while Nick and Olivia watched, "He was happy, he really was..."

"Of course he was, he was going to be what he longed for," the old fox whispered to his wife while he held back his tears.

after a few more seconds Garrett said to the two officers, "You said we needed to confirm the ... the body is indeed Reese?"

"Y-Yes, uh ... if you follow me please," Olivia answered before she started to walk towards the stairs.

There were two lifts in the building, the one that entered the detective department went to the underground parking. However, the other elevator went down t the autopsy level. All four animals made their way t such lift and got in taking it down to the basement.

"Now I have to warm you ... Reese's body's condition is bad what happened to him was horrific," Olivia said calmly while the lift came to a slow stop.

"You don't have to come in," Garrett offered his wife, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle seeing their son's body.

"No, I want to see him," She demanded.

All four of the red furred canines entered the cold room. The M.E turned around from his desk in the far left corner from the door. He turned off his computer and began to walk up to the four canines as they walked up to him.

"Are these the parents?" He asked.

"Y-Yes, Doctor Sharp meet Mr. and Mrs. Murdock, they are here for the unfortunate task of having to Identify their son's body," Olivia said with sympathy trying to make the situation not feel so cold hearted.

No one else said anything, no more greetings, no talking, they knew what was coming next, so the Annabell and Garrett followed the deer to the wall that had two dozen square, stainless steel doors each one being capable of holding a dead body within it of any size. Doctor Sharp found the door to the refrigerated storage that kept Reese's body.

The doctor unlatched the handle and pulled the door open, a mist escaping from the cold storage. The deer pulled the table that the body was on out. However, Reese was still covered by a white sheet.

"Are you ready?" The deer asked ready to pull the sheet away.

The two foxes looked at one another then nodded in agreement. The M.E pulled away from the sheet only down to the neck of the deceased fox, knowing that nothing more was necessary.

"T-That's him," Annabell cried out. "That's our son," She sobbed. As the M.E went to cover the body once again, Annabell stopped him by saying, "No! I want to look at him just a while longer."

Annabell just stood there alongside her husband and the stared in silence before She broke out into tear no longer able to look at her dead son.

Doctor Sharp knew what he had to do, so he covered the body back up with the white sheet and pushed the table back into cold storage closing the door relatching the lock.

Olivia walked up to the two mourning foxes, and she said with as much sympathy as she could, "I'm sorry you had to do this."

The awkwardness and pain of the situation would not fade, so Nick spoke up, "I think we should go."

The four canine feel into an agreement, and they left the morgue leaving the M.E alone to do his job. Once they were on the main floor, Annabell and Garrett left to go home and mourn in each other's arms hoping, demanding that the killer is brought to justice.

Nick and Olivia would do as such, as they began their search for the cop who betrayed the ZPD and helped in the murder of Reese Murdock.

* * *

 **Hello, yes it's me, I'm back with another chapter, sorry it took a little long to get this one out, I had to rewrite about half of it because I was going too far off track with what I wanted to get across with the chapter.**

 **Now, in my opinion, I'm sure a lot of you have questions abut what the hell is going on in this chapter. If you do, then please leave a review asking me the question, I will reply in a PM to whoever asks the question, then I will post all the answers in an author's note either at the end or beginning of the next chapter for all to see.**

 **Other than that I hoped you liked the chapter if you did then great tell me what you liked about it or what you didn't like about it in a review as well.**

 **and until next time ...**


	17. Then Who?

Chapter Seventeen: Then Who?

Hatred fuelled, will become a darkness that only evil can destroy.

* * *

Nick held his wife in his arms as tight as he could while he stared into the vast, endless city lights, wondering where the shot came from. He wiped the blood that spattered on his face, and he did the same to the bunny that laid unmoving in his arms.

Olivia came running up from her car, she fell in front of the two frightened, confused lovers and she asked lacking breath, "Did ... you do ... this?"

* * *

18 hours earlier

"Okay, we know someone is helping Davis, but what you've neglected to tell me is how you're planning to find out who it is," Olivia pointed out while she and Nick walked up the stairs back to the detective department.

Nick smirked as he always did when he and Olivia discussed the details of one of his plans or thoughts, then he replied, "Alright, the officer is doing Davis' bidding it's clear, but he or she is nowhere near as good as Davis or us for that matter. We can outsmart him or her if we use what we have."

Olivia's ears perked as she asked, "And that would be?"

"The oh so fantastic element of surprise," Nick said as he sat down in his chair. "They don't know that we know, so we use that to our advantage," He added while he spun around on in his seat.

"Okay, great, but that still doesn't get us anywhere," Olivia replied annoyed by Nick's childlike fidgeting. "We need to know how to use it and how to smoke out whoever is behind this."

"I'm getting there," Nick said with a smirk right before he stopped himself from spinning by dropping his feet to the floor. His grin turned into a face filled with order, and the joking stopped before he stood up and said, "This guy is probably scared of being caught meaning he's not thinking straight. So we say that we have found possible evidence and stored it with all the case files, for the time being, all we have to do is wait for the guy to show up and we have our culprit."

"That's it, that's your plan?" Olivia asked slightly surprised at the pure simplicity of Nick's so-called ingenious plan.

Nick chuckled and said, "Well yeah." He looked at Olivia seeing she was serious when she said those words, "Wait you thought that it was going to be complicated? Live this isn't TV things aren't incredibly convoluted like in fiction this is real life."

"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right, but I just figured it would be you know ... cooler," Olivia replied with a grin covering her face.

"Ha ha how amusing," Nick said sarcastically placing his paw on his chest while he faked laughed. "Okay, now come one we need to tell everyone who's involved with this case that we found something," He added while he began to walk away from his desk. Nick walked towards the front of the detective department, and he jumped onto a detective's desk and yelled, "Hey everyone, listen up!" Everyone in the department turned to the front and looked in Nick's direction. "Live, and I found something that could bring the guy who killed Reese to justice so you can all stop helping out and go back to your own cases because it's not Davis who did this!" Nick jumped back down and smiled while he walked back to Olivia right before saying, "Now the officers still here let's get them into the briefing room."

"Alright," Olivia said following Nick to the large hallway out of the department.

They walked dow the stairs and headed to the patrol briefing room, Nick used to go there every day with Judy before she left and he became a detective. Now that there wasn't a chief and the ministration of police has yet to find someone new the put into power, all the patrol officers just kept on doing their jobs, and it worked out. They all knew how to rotate between shifts among other things, so the mornings were spent doing something else.

Nick opened the door to the dark room, he jumped up and flipped the light switch.

"Oh the memories," Nick said as he looked around the empty room filled with chairs and table that had a thin layer of dust on them like it hadn't been used for months.

"Haven't you wondered why we still don't have a new chief?" Olivia asked while they walked to the front of the room.

Nick picked up the radio used to call patrol officers to a briefing in that room before he said to Olivia, "I don't know, maybe they don't want to make the same mistake the Mayor did when he asked to have Eric put in power, look what happened to him. After I told him he had to resign, Eric just left, he didn't even go back to the position he was in before, I don't know what happened to him after that, but I don't think it was good."

"Yeah I don't believe it would have been," Olivia said with displeasure, but not actually caring what happened to the lion. then she said with a sudden smile before she grabbed the walkie-talkie from Nick, "Now come on we need to tell all the patrol officers we have found something."

"Haven't you ever wondered why detectives don't have radios?" Nick asked with sudden curiosity. "I mean I had one before becoming a detective, but I don't anymore, why?" He asked with a smirk.

Olivia leaned against the wall behind her, and she said, "I don't know, maybe they figured we could just use our phones, I mean do you really want to have to keep your radio beside your bed just in case you get a call in the middle of the night. I figure using our phone is easier."

"Huh, I never thought of that," Nick replied with a slightly surprised that he couldn't think of that.

Olivia smirked and chuckled under her breath before she turned on the walkie and spoke into it with a clean tone, "Attention officers this is Olivia O'Neil if I tasked you with searching for evidence for the murder of Cadet Reese Murdock. I am informing you that we have found the evidence we need and you can all go back to your regular patrols thank you." She let go of the talk button and asked Nick with a smile, "How's that?"

He grinned back and said with a thumbs up, "Perfect!"

Olivia turned the radio walkie off and said, "There now this place can go untouched for god knows how long."

Nick began to walk to the back of the room while he said with optimism, "Let's go now all we have to do is wait for an officer to try and break into the evidence department where the case files are and boom we have the guy who did this."

Olivia followed suit as she asked, "Yes, but how do we catch him? He's clearly going to be much bigger than us, and we've both seen what's happened to you when fighting an animal triple your size."

"well unlike the last time we ran into someone working for Davis I've come prepared," Nick replied with a grin as he jumped up to turn off the light to the room. He opened the door letting Olivia walk out first following her as it closed itself before he said, "We still have tranquilizer guns in storage, we use them on him, and he just falls asleep. When he wakes up in interrogation, he will have no idea what happened until he sees our faces."

"Well the waiting part is going to kill me," Olivia grinned as they made their way to the stairs. As they walked up the stairs into the hallway she offered, "Why don;t you go bac home I'll stay here and wait for the cop to try and take the evidence and all catch him."

"No, I think I'll stay," He replied as they passed the chief's office. "And you need your sleep more than I need it," He added with a grin. He chuckled as he added, "Hell you've gotten less sleep than me in the past two days."

They entered the detective department, and Olivia replied, "maybe you're right ... Okay, but I'll be back at ..." She looked at her watch then finished, "At midnight. That leaves you seven hours to sit around and wait for someone to be stupid and reveal themselves to you."

Nick pulled his chair out from his desk and sat down as he said, "Great now that this is settled, you go."

He spun around in his chair, and as he slowed, he stopped while he pointed to the elevator indicating leave.

"Hey, I'm still in charge here," She replied leaning against his desk. "I could just order you to go home, and I'll stay," She added with a smirk.

"But that would be a mistake because you see unlike, uh you, I've gotten sleep, it may not be a lot, but it's more than you. Live you could jeopardize this whole case," He replied grinning the whole time as he again spun himself around in his chair. "Go go," He added with a chuckle.

"Alright, alright I'm going," She replied annoyed by his witty jokes and remarks, hiding her smile for she really liked it when he joked around, it brought a calmness.

Olivia walked away heading to the lift, she got in and took it down to the underground parking.

Now that Olivia was gone Nick had no reason to keep joking around, he stopped the chair from spinning, and his smirk turned to a flat smile. He stood up and headed back into the hallway going passed the chief's office and to the second flight of stairs that led to the third floor of the precinct. He made his way up the stairs and through the hallway that led to a dozen or so rooms each one used for a different kind of storage or supply. Nick walked passed eight doors until he came up to one that said arms and ammunition, the same room he went in the last time he needed to get a piece of equipment not generally used by all the officers such as breathing gear for when he thought he would need to go underwater when Judy was missing.

How it was so long ago, but not long enough the aftermath of what Davis did to her still fresh in their minds almost like it just happened despite it being almost a year. That was what really confused Nick, why Davis would just show up again to mess with their lives after a while year of nothing. Only having one or two lead to finding him none of them turning up anything and if thy did, they animals involved feared Davis so much that they took their own life.

He remembered this bear who messed up his back, said, "he didn't want to face a brutal death by the paws of Davis." But the last thing he said before jumping off a twelve-story building was, "there are things far worse than death itself."

It made him think of what this cop would do if he were to get caught working for Davis. Then the thought would come to mind, "What if this guy isn't working for Davis? What if he's just doing this because he hates foxes?"

Nick considered this a dozen times since he saw the body of that poor cadet, someone he was going to train until he was better than him at this job. He as going to be the best damn cop since Judy, but now that cadet was dead, and all he left behind was a mourning family.

"It has to be Davis," Nick would say to himself. thinking, "No one can do something so horrific, no one can torture a kid like that, no one but Davis."

Nick opened the door and neglected to turn on the light it not being necessary. He looked around searching for the metal box that was labeled tranquilizers. Once he found this container, he opened it and grabbed a couple of magazines of tranquilizer darts. Beside this was another storage bin filled with different types of guns designed for the darts. He grabbed two and loaded them before closing both boxes and leaving the room, heading back down the stairs and into the detective department, to his desk with the guns strapped to his side hidden by his suit's overcoat.

Nick turned on his computer and logged into the ZPD and accessed the security cameras to the evidence lockup. Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

As Nick reached midnight, he feared that he was wrong about the whole thing, that there wasn't someone else working with Davis that he somehow got into the ZPD and did all of this himself.

"How could I be so stupid?" Nick asked himself dropping his head to his desk making a loud thump.

He sat up and went to turn off the computer but noticed something was different about the entrance to the evidence department. Nick looked at the other camera inside of the room, and he saw that a few boxes had been rummaged through. He changed the angle of the camera, and to his surprise, he could see an African Wild Dog dressed in his uniform searching through a box of evidence.

"Got ya you son of a bitch," Nick said with a grin before grabbing the two tranquilizer guns from his sides.

Nick raced through the ZPD until he came up to the door where he could still hear the Wild Dog inside.

Nick turned the corner and yelled, "ZPD put your paws up where I can see 'em!"

The officer turned around to see Nick standing there pointing the gun up at him. He ran into him throwing himself into Nick pulling him down to the ground. The Wild Dog punched him across the face grabbing one of the guns from him before struggling to get back to his feet.

Nick got up to see the Wild Dog pointing the gun at him.

"Game over Fox," The Wild Dog chuckled before shooting at Nick.

Nick jumped out of the way before running after him shooting a few darts at him before dodging one. Nick ran after him through the hallway and down the flights of stairs where the Wild dog decided to jump. He jumped down to the ground floor into a recovery role before shooting the last dart from the gun dropping it before rushing out the front doors to the ZPD.

Nick Followed suit by jumping down rolling and getting up before making his way to the front entrance, but when he got outside the Wild Dog was nowhere to be seen. Nick looked around only seeing parked cars and a few civilians at the end of the street.

"Fuck," Nick whispered to himself holding back all his anger for losing the animal he needed to apprehend.

As Nick went to turn around to go back into the ZPD, he saw a figure hiding in the parking lot trying to hide behind a car.

"Hey!" Nick yelled pointing at him. "Stop!" HE exclaimed as he began to run after him as started to run away.

The Wild Dog ran across the street leaving Nick on the other side. Nick went running across to catch him but the light down the road had turned green, and dozens of cars were rushing down. The, however, wasn't going to stop Nick, He ran as fast as he could and as an SUV came in his way Nick jumped into the air and slid across the hood of the car landing on the sidewalk.

"Oh shit!" The Wild Dog had said to himself before he continued to run down the sidewalk.

Nick chased after him, as he closed the gap between them the Wild Dod stopped suddenly. The Wild Dog ran towards Nick throwing a punch at him right in the chest. He grabbed Nick and threw him into the wall of the building beside them.

"You foxes never learn!" He yelled picking Nick up to toss him into the side of a parked car. "I kill one of you, and you just come running for more!" He said picking Nick up by the neck pinning him against a wall.

"Well you know, foxes are stubborn," Nick mumbled out while the Wild Dog choked him. Nick kneed him in the stomach causing him o release him then Nick said with a cough, "And I am the worst of them all."

Nick kicked the dog in the face before he fell to the ground holding his neck as he coughed. The Wild Dog stood up then kicked Nick one last time before running off leaving him in pain on the ground with no one to help him.

"Shit!" He yelled as he coughed over and over. Nick stood up leaning against the wall he was just pushed against, and he watched the cop get away and said, "Olivia isn't going to be happy with me."

Nick limped all the way back to the ZPD when he entered he walked passed a few officers who asked him if they could help, but he declined. Nick walked up the stairs he made his way to the empty detective department to see the only animal a red wolf sitting in her seat waiting for Nick.

"Hey Live, how ya' doing?" Nick had asked with a smirk before he groaned holding his side that was in pain from when he was kicked.

Olivia looked up from her desk and immediately said, "Nick what in the hell was you thinking!"

"Well I thought I could catch this guy, but he pulled a move I wasn't expecting," Nick replied with a smirk as he lost his balance falling to his knees holding onto his desk.

Olivia rushed to him helping him up while she asked, "I guess that means he got away?'

"A cough! Cough! ... yeah," He replied falling into his chair.

"How bad does it hurt"? Olivia asked as she tried to lift Nick's undershirt.

"How bad is it?" Nick asked holding back a groan.

"Well the good news is you're just bruised not internal bleeding, but you left side is severely cut up, how did he do that?" She replied while she put his shirt down.

"Uh .. he threw me into a wall and a car," He answered trying not to chuckle for it hurt too much.

"Well, I'll get the first-aid kit," Olivia said as she stood up. "Can you get you shirt off?" She asked hoping he could so she wouldn't have to do it for him.

"Y-Yeah I think so," He replied before she walked away to get the first aid kit.

Nick stood up and unbuttoned his shirt pulling it off along with his overcoat. He dropped them on the chair behind him and now his upper body was revealed. The bruising to his right side and the cuts to his left. However, they weren't actually cut, but more scraped, the fur and skin being torn away when his body hit the wall and car. The metal being responsible for the ripping of his skin.

Olivia came back, and she stopped for a split second taking a glance at Nick's toned chest, abs, and arms, but she quickly dismissed them for the wound she needed to treat.

"Live, now is not the time to be thinking about my looks!" Nick exclaimed.

"I wasn't I ... I was just taking a look at the bruises," She replied trying to hide that fact that was obvious. She rushed up to him and said while she placed the first aid it on the ground as she got to her knees so she could work on Nick's side, "Now stay still this is going to hurt.

Olivia grabbed the bottle of rubbing alcohol, she opened it and poured some onto a cloth. Nick clenched his teeth right before Olivia placed the cloth on Nick's side.

"Ahhhh! Mother fucker that hurt!" Nick said in pain as he tried to stop himself from quivering from the burning sensation the rubbing alcohol was giving him.

"I'm not done I still need to clean the wound meaning there is more where this came from," Olivia replied before she gently removed the cloth. "Hold on I need some water," She added before standing up.

"Wait why didn't you get some before you started?" Nick asked slightly annoyed that she only now thought about it.

"I forgot okay!" She replied her voice raising slightly. "It's not every day that I have to patch up my partner because he forgot to call for back up when he needed it," She added calmly taking a shot at him.

"Just go get your water," Nick replied stopping her from starting a fight they did not need to have.

Olivia walked away heading to the break room. She turned on the tap and grabbed a large bowl from the cabinet plus a dry towel from the drawer under the sink. She filled the bowl with hot water and brought it back placing it on the ground by first aid kit.

Olivia rinsed out the cloth and poured more rubbing alcohol onto it placing it on Nicks side once again.

"Jesus that's hot!" Nick yelled.

"What did you expect me to use cold water, it needs to be hot," She replied as she slowly rubbed the cloth across Nick's side to clean it.

She again removed it to rinse it out before wiping Nick's side once more before taking the clean towel to dry it off only padding it against him as to not cause unnecessary pain. Once it was dry, she grabbed some gauze and placed it on the wound before she used the medical cloth tape to hold it in place. However, Olivia couldn't wrap around his side for the bruising was in the way and it would cause more pain than needed, so she rapped it on an angle meaning she needed to use a little extra.

"There," She said as she finished up with bandaging Nick's side.

"Thanks, I owe you one," Nick replied before he sat down slowly in his chair.

Olivia finished bandaging up the small cuts on Nick's face and one slightly larger one on his right arm. Once she was done Olivia cleaned up the first aid kit, she emptied the bowl of water into the breakroom sink and washed the cloth she used to clean up any blood that was on Nick.

When he sat down beside him in her own chair, she asked, "Who was it?"

Nick sat up groaning subtly before he said, "You mean the cop who did this, oh it was uh, an African Wild Dog, from eastern decent his coat was darker than most."

"Norvel, Norvel Harkins. he's the only African Wild Dog at this precinct," Olivia answered. "There's no way he did this winningly, he loved this job, and he hated no one," She added standing up from her chair.

"Well from what he said to me, I don't think he's being forced to do anything," Nick replied while he held his side. "I'm beginning to think that Davis isn't even involved in any of this," He added with growing concern for the fact that they might have another killer doing things on his own terms on the loose in Zootopia.

Olivia straightened her black, synthetic leather jacket then said, "Well despite that, we know who to look for. I'll put out an APB for Norvel and have all traffic cams and side cams on alert for his face, but I'm sure he will know that facial recognition only works when you can see the face. If we don't know where he is, then we can't do anything other than that."

"I should head home," Nick spoke out suddenly.

as she was sitting back down to log into the ZPD Olivia agreed, "Yeah I think you should, I'm sure Judy is waiting for you."

"No, if anything she's gone to bed," Nick replied while he slowly stood up. "Shes ... probably got a migraine," He added before falling back into his chair grabbing his side and he groaned. "Son of a bitch!"

"Nick I don't think you should be driving in this condition, let me take you home," Olivia insisted jumping from her chair to see if Nick was alright.

"I guess I'll owe twice now huh?" Nick said with a grin on his face.

"Actually you owe me like six or seven times," Olivia replied with a chuckle as she helped Nick stand up and head to the elevator.

"What were the other five times?" Nick asked as thy made their way to the elevator.

Olivia smirked and said while she clicked the button for the lift and they waited for it, "Uh, there was that one time you needed me to help you with finding the right brand of tampons your wife uses."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know what kind she uses, it's not like Judy brings those up in conversation, so I called you for some help okay," Nick replied with a grin and a subtle laugh he tried to keep down to ease himself some pain.

The doors opened to the lift, and they got in as Olivia continued down the list, "Oh, can't forget the two times in the past yer you've needed me to fix you up after getting into a fight with a criminal."

"You'd think you would be able to remember to grab some water to clean the rags after the third time," Nick added with a grin as the elevator jolted and began to lower.

"Not to mention the two times you needed a ride into and from work because of those injuries," SH added with a smirk as the lift came to a stop.

The doors opened, and Olivia helped Nick walk to her car as Nick said, "Alright, I guess I owe you a lot, I guess what I'm trying to say is thanks. Thank you for being my friend I've only really got Judy in my life, I mean her parents love me like a son, but where were they for Judy when she went missing, I told them about it, and they never came running to see if she was okay."

Olivia opened the passenger door to her red, Mach one Ford Mustang and helped Nick in.

"You know now that I think of it, your car is much better than mine, I don't understand why you would get it outfitted for police work, you could lose it to a criminal in more ways than one," Nick said suddenly changing the subject.

Olivia strapped Nick in as she said, "Because it's fast and looks cool with the sirens on."

She closed the door, and Nick said to himself, "Fair point."

Olivia walked around to the driver side of the car and got in. She closed the door, pulled her seatbelt over, started the vehicle, and drove out fo the parking lot.

"What about you?" Olivia asked.

"What about me?" Nick asked back confused what she wanted to know.

"Why did you gert your brand new car outfitted for police work?" She said while paying attention to the road that was now ahead of them.

"Oh same reason as you, because it's fast and I look cool in it with the sirens on," Nick replied with a chuckle that was abruptly stopped by groans of pain.

"Alright no more joking around it's hurting you too much," Olivia demanded.

"Yes ... I completely ... agree," Nick replied, firmly holding his side from the pain he just caused himself.

Olivia drove at a reasonable speed. However, she didn't go too fast as to need to make sudden movements with the car that could further injure Nick. Soon Olivia pulled up in front of the large apartment building Nick and Judy lived in. She turned off her car, grabbing the keys before she got out to help Nick with standing up. She closed the passenger door after getting Nick out then she locked the doors to the vehicle. Olivia and Nick made their way into the building they got into the elevator and went to the sixth floor.

Nick fiddled with his keys until he got the correct one pushing it into the door knob twisting it before pulling it out and opening the door.

"You want to come in; I can make you some coffee?" Nick offered as Olivia helping Nick through the door and towards the living room.

"I would- ... I-I mean I can't it's getting late, and someone needs to go back to the ZPD and put out that APB," Olivia replied rubbing the back of her neck as Nick sat down on the couch in his living room.

"Oh come on, I'm sure it can wait for a little while longer, besides I owe you at least that," Nick insisted.

"N-No I can't I really should go," She replied backing away from the living room and back to the front entrance.

"A-Alright, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Nick finally agreed.

"Well no you won't you're not coming into work tomorrow, not the way you are right now," Olivia said stopping in her tracks.

"Oh come on I'm sure I'll be okay by then," Nick replied insisting that he would be fine.

"No, you're not, end of a discussion," She said with an order before she left closing the door behind her.

"Well ... I guess I'm not going to work tomorrow," Nick said to himself slightly annoyed and relieved that he wasn't going to work.

Nick stood up and slowly made his way through the darkness to his bedroom. He opened the door to see Judy asleep curled up in the blanket on his side of the bed.

"She probably had a migraine," Nick thought to himself while he did his best to hold back any sudden noises or movements.

Nick slowly undressed managing not to hurt himself any further. Then he climbed into bed on Judy's side seeing as she had stolen his. Nick laid down, but he made the unfortunate move of falling back to quickly, and it caused an immense pain that made him groan as the throbbing hit him hard, then there was the bruising that didn't help with the matter.

Judy moved around in the bed turning to Nick, she opened her eyes not being able to see a thing, and she said, "Hey honey."

"Hey, beautiful ... How's your head feeling?" Nick asked completely ignoring his own injuries to tend to his wife.

"This one was terrible, worse one all month," Judy replied while she let some of the blankets go so Nick could get under it.

"Awe," Nick murmured with sympathy. He moved closer to slightly giving Judy a kiss on the lips before breaking it to say, "I'm here for you, you know that."

"Y-Yeah I do," She replied with a smile only Nick could see. "Nick, I love you," she added wanting to move closer to him to feel his warmth and comfort.

When she did, her foot hit Nick's side that was bruised, and he groaned under his breath.

"W-What happened, did ... did I hurt you?" Judy asked with worry in her eyes.

"N-No ...," He replied his paw grasping his side. "I uh ... got hurt at work that's all it is," He added brushing it off like a regular occurrence.

Judy sat up and reached for the lamp while she said, "How bad is it?"

"Oh um ... define your terms of bad?" Nick suggested right before the light lit up the room.

Judy gasped at the sight of the bruising to Nick's right side, "Nick w-what happened!" She crawled across the bed to see his left side was bandaged up and she gasped again asking, "Who did this to you?"

"Judy it's not that bad," Nick replied trying to reassure her.

"You're lying," She said with a stern look on her face. "You called me Judy; you only ever call me that when you're being serious or trying to shield me from something you think I can;t handle when I can."

"A-Alright," Nick replied with a calm tone. "Look, I was in a foot chase with the cop who is responsible for killing Resse, he tossed me around a few times and maybe kicked me once or twice," He answered trying to stay calm so Judy wouldn't become any more worried or angry.

"Oh Nick, w-why would you try and hide this from me?" Judy asked moving closer to him, paying close attention to where she held or touched him.

"Because you don't need anymore worry in your life," Nick replied placing his paws on her shoulder while he sat up slowly. "I see what you go through every day, every night, I ... I hate to see you in pain, and my pain ... my fear only makes it worse." Nick looked her in the eyes and said with utter sincerity in his voice, "I love you, way more than I should and you love me, more than you should. Judy, I will do anything, whatever it takes to keep you safe to make you happy. I love you so much that if I had to ... I would burn this whole city down to find Davis and end him if that's what you wanted I would do it, despite it going against who I am what I believe in. Judy, I would kill for you." He held her closer as he said, "I-I know it seems crazy, and just purely insane, but I would, I would hate it, but if it means you can live without fear, without pain, then I would do it in a heartbeat again and again."

"Nick, I-" Judy said before Nick placed his finger on Judy's lips.

Nick dropped his finger from her mouth, and he said, "I need you to know that you have changed me in ways I couldn't possibly imagine. I would never have thought that I would be here today four years ago." Nick's subtle smile became nothing as he said looking away from Judy, "I know you would do the same, and I can't let you, I can't let you destroy yourself for me." He looked back at her directly in the eyes as he said, " I love you too much, and I don't know maybe that's selfish, but what you mean to be is too much to be lost."

The silence began to build, but it was broken when Judy looked away from Nick and murmured, "I know." She looked back at him seeing the slight shock on his face as she said, "I know because you're right. I would do the same, and I'm doing it right now, every day, despite the pain I comfort you when you need me because I love you."

Nick didn't know what to say, so he just pulled Judy close to him nd hugged her. He didn't care that it hurt to press her against him, but he needed to feel her touch, for her to feel his warmth.

"Nick, I'm sorry," Judy whispered into his ear.

"For what?" NIkc questioned pulling away slightly from Judy to see her face.

"For being ... for being ... I'm sorry for making you neglect yourself to help me when you needed help more than me," Judy slurred out hating herself.

"Don't say that," Nick replied almost ordering her. "I did what I had to, to keep you safe to make sure you felt safe, I can't bare to see you in pain, but I do every day my pain only makes yours worse, and now I just don't know what to do," he said with uncertainty. "I don't know how to stop all this ... all this pain this, this torture we are going through. I don't know how to stop it," he cried out years building up in his eyes.

Judy pulled away from him knowing that she was causing him pain by being in his arms and she said, "We will figure it out ... together, like we always do, I won't lose you, and you won't lose me, not to fear, not to pain, not to Davis. No one will pull me or you away from what we have what we are ..." she gave him a kiss breaking away as she said, "I love you too much to let it happen, and I, know you feel the same."

Nick smiled wiping the tears away from his eyes while he said with a sniffle, "that's my Carrots, always looking for the good in the bad. It makes me love you that much more."

Judy reached crawled over to the lamp, and she switched it off before falling back pulling the blanket over her. Nick got under the covers, and he snuggled Judy, sadly only being able to hold her lightly and not close to him because it hurt too much.

Judy fell asleep, and Nick couldn't keep himself awake any longer, and he too closed his eyes and let exhaustion take over pulling him into a deep sleep.

* * *

"You can't escape!" Davis yelled with laughter. "What is coming for you is far worse than anything I've done to you!"

Nick looked around him only seeing black no light his eyes, not adjusting.

"You won't get away with this!" Nick exclaimed still feeling lost and disoriented.

"N-Nick!" Judy's voice echoed repeating his name again and again.

His eyes finally adjusted and he could see ahead of him Davis hovering over his wife claws out ready to kill at any given moment.

"For thing's to move forward ...," Davis said moving his index finger right to Judy's neck his claw sharp ready to penetrate her skin. "Some must die," He murmured as he cut into Judy's neck the blood spattering out suddenly, more flowing down onto her body as he pulled his claw away.

"No!" Nick screamed running towards them.

Davis dropped Judy, and she fell in her own pool of blood her life gone.

"It is the way things are!" He yelled backing away from them.

Nick picked up Judy and cried out in anger, in hate for Davis and what he did. He set her down and turned around running after the Panther who just laughed as he came after him.

As Nick jumped after him he disappeared out of site; then he woke up throwing himself from bed.

The pain, the fear, it consumed him, his whole body shaking in from fear and pain it causing more, for every time his body vibrated his sides hurt because of the bruising and the wound.

"It hurts!" He cried.

Nick lost all control, the anger, the pain, the freight it was too much; he held his sides as he sobbed which in turn only made it worse when his irregular breathing made him jolt.

Judy awoke, she saw how much pain he was in, she saw his tears in the moonlight creeping in from the window. There was more than ever it shocked her.

"Nick ...," She whispered placing her paw on him.

He turned to her and cried out, "I-It hurts!"

Judy desperately wanted to hold him, so did he, but it would only cause more pain. The connection they both longed for at this moment being ripped away from them injuries they wished Nick didn't have.

"J-Judy, I ... I ...," He tried to speak not being able to the torture he felt only getting worse.

"Nick, just ... breathe," She said trying to calm him, while she intertwined her fingers with his. "It'll be okay," She whispered. "I'm right here."

It overwhelmed him, he couldn't stop it, it just kept hurting more and more, and it made him quiver, it made him cry and that only made it worse, the vicious cycle never ending.

"I-I ... oh God it hurts!" He wept, breaking Judy's hold on his paws as he tried to hold his sides.

"W'We need to take you to the hospital," She ordered. "W-Why didn't you go before?" She asked even though he couldn't answer.

Judy quickly climbed out of bed and began to get dressed.

"W-Wait!" Nick cried out. "M-My car i-isn't here, L-L ... Live drove me ... h-home ..."

"I'll call nine-one-one," She replied as she pulled a shirt over her head.

"N-No!" Nick insisted. "Call O-Olivia."

"O-Okay," She agreed.

Judy grabbed her phone from the night table, and she did Olivia's phone number. It began to ring, and after four she picked it up.

"Uh ... Judy, is everything alright?" Olivia asked curious and concerned that Judy was calling.

"N-No," She replied. "Nick woke up from a nightmare, he's in pain, and now he's in a panic attack, and it's only hurting him more b-because of his sides. H-He told me to call you," She said still unsure why he wanted her to call Olivia.

"I-I know extensive first-aid, my brother taught me, I'll be there shortly try and calm him," Olivia replied hanging up the phone suddenly so she could rush to their apartment.

Judy put the phone down and looked at Nick who was holding his sides, crying.

"She's on her way," Judy said placing her paw on Nick's leg. Judy jumped up onto the bed and held his paws away from his sides knowing that holding them only caused more pain.

For twenty minutes she held on to his paws his crying, shivering, and torture coming to no end.

Then the door bell rang, and with her incredible hearing Judy could hear Olivia saying, "Judy I'm here."

"I'll be right back Okay, don't hold your sides," She ordered with sympathy for him.

Judy leaped from the bed and ran through the apartment reaching the door. She opened it to see Olivia standing there ready to help.

"He's in our bedroom," Judy said there being no need for Olivia to ask where he was.

They rushed to through the dark apartment, and when they reached the bedroom, Judy flipped on the light.

Nick was laying on the bed moaning in pain while he sobbed there no longer being tears for they were none left to cry.

"I've never seen him in so much pain that he cries like this," Judy said almost not being able to watch Nick without shedding a tear herself.

"He was hurt pretty bad, I don't know why he had you call me instead of an ambulance," Olivia questioned while she too watched Nick it being almost unbearable to watch.

"B-Because I h-hate hospitals!" He yelled out rolling onto his back the blanket falling from him his nakedness being revealed.

"And he's naked," Olivia said with shock as she placed her paw in front of her eyes so she couldn't see his nakedness.

Judy grabbed his undergarments from the floor, and she slipped them on him covering his privates.

"I didn't look," Oliva said to herself and to Judy.

"It's okay, just ... Just help him," She begged.

Olivia nodded, she walked over to Nick and could barely watch him groan and cry in agonizing pain.

"It'll all be over soon," She said with a soft voice.

Oliva had a first-aid kit in her car, it being something she felt was necessary to have with you in a vehicle. However, Oliva's was a little more advanced than a typical first-aid kit. She had additional supplies, medical tools that could be used to remove a piece of shrapnel or worse a bullet, but above all the extra tools, she had drugs. Medication that a hospital would give to a patient if they were in pain or needed to be sedated.

Olivia grabbed a small bottle labeled morphine, she stuck a needle into it and extracted some of it to give to Nick.

"Olivia, I'm pretty sure that's illegal to have," Judy said not genuinely caring that it was, for it was helping Nick.

Olivia stuck the needle into Nick's arm then she pushed it in injecting him with the drug that would give him relief from the pain he was in.

She removed the armband she put on his arm to cut circulation while she said, "I'm trained in extensive first-aid, and I'm a cop, I'm going to carry this shit with me."

"Fair enough," She replied with a subtle smirk.

"Any second now you're going to feel the medicine kick in okay," Olivia said to Nick with a reassuring voice and tone.

"T-Thank you," He stumbled out.

"Thank you, Olivia, know I know why he had me call you, it would have been hours before he was given that," Judy said with a smile of gratitude.

"I should stay to make sure he's alright, I can't have my partner OD because of me," Olivia replied while she closed up her first-aid kit.

"I'll make you some coffee, it's ... wait what time is it?" Judy asked herself while she grabbed her phone. She checked the time and said it aloud, "Three forty-two AM, it's later than I thought."

"I'll take you up on that coffee if it isn't any trouble," Olivia said with a smile.

"O-Okay, stay with Nick, I-I'll go make a pot," Judy agreed as she walked backward towards the door.

"Oh, uh ... alright," She mumbled to herself.

"W-What y-you afraid of being alone with me?" Nick stumbled out with a chuckle that hurt him.

Olivia replied suddenly and quickly as she fumbled over her own words, "W-What no, I uh ... I just ... it's just ... y-you're only in your boxers and, y-you weren't wearing anything before."

"Oh y-yeah, sorry about that," Nick replied while he tried to move around on the bed so his head would rest on the pillows. "I prefer to sleep with n-nothing on, it just feels better you know," He added with a smirk.

"I see that morphine I gave you is working," Olivia remarked with a grin of her own.

"Yeah, oh and why do you have that in your car?" Nick asked while he laid his head back. "I don't think that's legal."

"Minor details," She chuckled still standing beside the bed. "Look, it's not like I'm taking it, to be honest, today is the first time in years that I've used morphine on someone to ease their pain," She said more serious than before. "Just don't tell anyone okay."

"Live," He said with a smirk. "I was a con artist before a cop, the only reason I'm still a cop is that someone made sure no one found out, it was probably Bogo, he didn't want me to get ruined for my past," He said his smirk gone for thoughts of his friend returned. He quickly regained it as he added, "T-The law is good we know that, but sometimes it impedes the ability to do our jobs. O-Of course, some cops take it t-too far they bend the law for their own benefit, b-but if we do what we must to put someone behind bars then yes I-I'll do what I must. Some animals may think otherwise, but If cops didn't bend the law when they needed to, t-to put someone away for a long time, half the criminals in prison today would still be on the loose."

Judy came back into the room, and she said, "The coffee will be ready soon." She looked at Nick and asked with sympathy her tone completely changing, "How are you feeling?"

"Well, thanks to Live here, I-I'm feeling well nothing, the pain i-is almost gone," Nick answered with a smirk still stuttering a few of his words.

"Thank you, Olivia, so much," Judy said more than grateful that she was willing to help.

Olivia smiled, and with a selfless tone she said, "I'll do anything for my friends." Then her smile faded as her awkwardness set in, so she said, "So, uh ... I'll just ... I'll wait in the I mean y-your living room."

Olivia walked out almost tripping ver her own feet, and she closed the door behind herself.

"What was that about?" Nick asked somewhat confused by her sudden strange behavior.

"I don't know she's your partner at the ZPD is she always like this?" Judy asked while she climbed onto the bed.

"No, I mean only when she's here is she ever well ... off," Nick replied while he thought about all the times Olivia came to their apartment. Then he came to a sudden realization that shocked him, "Carrots y-you don't think she's?"

"Oh gosh," Judy whispered. "Nick, your partner has feelings for you," She said shocked herself, but not surprised. "Huh, Nick you're going to have to talk to her about them."

"Wait, what?" Nick said as he tried to sit up but couldn't.

"You have to talk to her about her feelings for you, you need to see how far they go," She said strangely calm about the whole situation. "You know I can't say I'm not surprised, I mean I was your partner and look at what happened there," She added with a smirk and a subtle chuckle.

"Carrots how are you okay with this?" Nick questioned utterly shocked by his wife's reaction.

"Nick baby," She said placing her paw on his shoulder. "You cheating on me is never going to happen."

"Well I'm glad you're not worried, but I can't talk to her alone, I don't know what to say," Nick replied still confused, not even sure if the assumptions they were making were even correct.

Judy had sighed before she said, "Okay, I'll be there when you ask her, but I don't think that's a good idea." Judy got onto her knees and shuffled to the edge of the bed where she jumped down before saying, "I'm going to go check on her and the coffee, you'll be okay here right?"

"I'll be fine," Nick replied with a smile.

Judy nodded then she opened the door leaving the room closing the door behind her. When she entered the living room, Olivia was sitting on the couch looking down at her feet while she waited.

"Uh ... Olivia," Judy spoke out suddenly.

Olivia looked up and stood up quickly as she said, "J-Judy, uh ... he okay?'

"Yeah Nick will be fine thanks to you," She replied with a smile walking over to Olivia looking up at her.

"Good, good ... uh I think I'm going to pass you on that coffee, I-I should really get back to the ZPD," Olivia said while she backed away from Judy.

Judy looked down then back up at Olivia before she sat down and said, "Oh ... o-okay, I'll let Nick know that you're leaving."

"Thank you," She cooed turning around, walking away.

She opened the door and walked out her first aid kit in paw, she closed it behind her and went straight to the lift.

Judy knew why she left, now that it was a thought she and Nick had considered, Olivia having feelings for Nick it was evident she did. It made it hard for her to be in their home it made it awkward for her.

"Damn it," Judy said to herself.

Judy walked over to the front entrance, and she grabbed her coat. She slipped it on and opened the door, she ran to the elevators and got into the second lift that wasn't being used. It came up from the third floor, and she got in taking it down to the first floor. The doors opened up, and she got out, Judy made her way to the building entrance, but as she came closer to the doors fear gripped her it overwhelmed her. Judy wanted to chase after Olivia and confront her, but couldn't go any further frightened by the outside she stopped herself three feet from the doors.

"Damn ..." She whispered to herself with a few tears falling from her eyes. "Damn it," she said louder.

"Miss are you alright someone asked seeing Judy just standing in the entrance clearly afraid of something.

"Oh ...," She said quickly wiping her eyes. She turned around and said still looking down, "I-I'm alright."

"You don't look alright," he replied.

Judy looked up and saw the African Wild Dog smiling at her

"No really I'm fine," She again stated.

"Hey do I know you?" He asked suddenly changing the subject.

"I don't think so," She replied looking up at him with a smile of her own. "I uh ... used to be a cop I was the first bunny officer of the ZPD."

"That's right, uh Judy Hopps right?" He questioned with a subtle chuckle. "Oh sorry how rude of me," He added.

"W-What?" Judy asked confused by him.

"It isn't Hopps anymore," HE said with a quickly fading smile. "It's Wilde!" He yelled grabbing her, holding his paw over her mouth and nose, there being no one in the front lobby to stop it from happening.

Judy unable to breathe lost consciousness, and the Wild Dog took her.

Up in their apartment, Nick was laying in bed waiting for his wife to come back in. After just five minutes Nick got out of bed and because of the medication Olivia gave him he could easily get dressed.

Nick got back into his suit, changing out the white undershirt for a clean one, he opened the bedroom door, and slowly walked out into the living room, he looked around and saw no one.

"Carrots, Live!" He called out. "Judy never leaves the apartment," He thought to himself.

Nick's worry began to grow, so he made his way to the door leaving the apartment.

He pulled out his phone and dialed up Olivia's number waiting for her to answer.

"Hello," He heard her say after four rings.

"Live, did you leave, did Judy go with you?" Nick asked in a panic.

Confused by Nick, she answered, "N-No I left, and she was still in your apartment."

"Well she's gone, she doesn't leave she's too scared too, s-something has happened," Nick said terrified fearing the worst.

"Okay, I'll turn around and come back," Olivia offered. "Just don't do anything stupid," She ordered before hanging up the phone.

Nick got into the elevator and took it down to the main lobby; he made his way to the front entrance pushing through the pain he could feel over the medication he took. Nick pushed through the front door to the apartment building, and he walked down the sidewalk.

"Judy!" He yelled.

He looked and on the other side of the street was the Wild Dog that he chased after and fought. Over his shoulder was Judy unconscious.

"Let her go!" Nick screamed.

Enraged Nick beat his way through any pain he could feel gaining speed as he ran to the other side of the street.

With sick of hatred and insanity the Wild dog ran into the street and grabbed Nick by the neck with his free paw.

With a laugh and a smirk, he spoke, "You, know at first I didn't want to do any of this, but that panther convinced me to, he made me realize that I could do something with my hatred of foxes." His voice became darkened, fuelled by hatred as he said, "Now look at you, you're pathetic, nothing more than a worthless animal." He dropped Nick to the ground then he dropped Judy near him before he said, "But before I kill you I'm going to make you watch your wife die!"

He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Judy.

"No!" Nick screamed.

Then, BANG!

Nick opened his eyes hearing the echo of a gunshot but seeing no wound on Judy. He looked up and right in the head of the Wild Dog with a bullet hole with blood dripping out of it.

He fell making a thump his blood beginning to pool around him. Nick grabbed his wife and held her close to him while he searched for who took the shot while he wiped the splattered blood from his and Judy's face.

Olivia came running up from her car, she fell in front of the two frightened, confused lovers and she asked lacking breath, "Did ... you do ... this?"

"No, it wasn't you?" He asked in shock.

"If it wasn't us ... then who?" Olivia asked giving Nick a look of confusion.

* * *

 **Hello I hope you liked this chapter, Please please please tell me what you think of it by posting a review, it tells me if I'm going in the right direction or not, and well I just love feedback. I also got an official cover art for the story done, and I've updated my story to have it. It was done my an artist I met on timber which goes by the name Spamjamz, she's really great at drawing, and I'm happy she could do it for me.**

 **On another note, I am so sorry it's been a few weeks longer than it should have been for this chapter to come out, I've been sick for the past two weeks. I've missed a week of school because of it; I've been doing my best to write nd get this out you guys, and get all the work from school done at the same time. I hope to be feelings much better soon and be able to keep up with all that I need to so you guys and get the latest chapter sooner. Thank you all for being patient with me it truly means a lot.**

 **Until next time**


	18. Overcome

Chapter Eighteen: Overcome

If you believe you can't accomplish something, then it truly is impossible.

* * *

Nick stood up Judy in his arms, despite having morphine running through him the pain he felt was increasing in its intensity. However, he pushed through it knowing he needed to get Judy back home, inside and safe.

"Olivia, get some officers over here to clean up this mess," Nick ordered with a groan of pain.

"Alright, just get Judy back inside," She agreed while she pulled out her phone.

Nick holding back all the screams and groans of pain, carried Judy inside the apartment building and he got into the elevator. He took it to the sixth floor the lift doors opening and he rushing out down the hall to his apartment. Every step getting harder to make. He opened the door and made it to the couch putting Judy down; Nick fell to the ground clenching his teeth his eyes closed tight while he tried to breathe through the pain.

"Gah!" He yelled out. "D-Damn it!"

Nick picked himself off the ground, and he rubbed the back side of his paw aginst Judy's cheek.

Nick's phone suddenly rang in his pocket, he pulled it out to end it, but he saw it was an unknown caller ID. Everyone he knew had a contact with their name, so he answered the call

"Hello," He said holding the pain in his voice.

"You're welcome," A voice said with a chuckle, one Nick knew better than his own.

"Davis, you son of a bitch, ah!" Nick yelled out it hurting him.

"Now now, that's no way to talk to the animal that just saved your life," Davis grumbled scolding Nick, for his rude behavior.

"W-Why?" He asked while he regained his balance looking at his wife.

It being clear Davis had a grin on his face, he again scolded, "No no, Nick, haven't you learned anything, you need to ask full questions, you can't just go blurting out one word expecting an answer from me, it just won't work."

Nick swallowed his saliva holding back his frustration and anger for the evil Panther, and he again asked, "W-Why have this cop kill a cadet, h-have him take my wife a-and try to have her murdered in front of me while I-I watch?"

"There we go a real question," he chuckled out. "I didn't tell him to do anything, all I did was ... change his perspective," He answered. "To be honest everything was going great, but he well, I can't believe I'm saying this, he got out of my control."

"So why did you save us?" Nick questioned anger fueling him to stand and ignore the pain.

"Well like I said, he got out of control, I couldn't let him kill you, believe it or not, Wilde, I don't want you dead," Davis answered shocking Nick. "

Nick didn't know what to say he began to walk knowing his wife would be okay for the time being.

Davis continued to say, "I followed him around and found out he wanted to kill you and Judy, I couldn't have you die, so I killed him." He again chuckled before adding, "I couldn't risk losing the shot, so be grateful for what I did. I saved your wife too, and we both know I didn't have to."

Nick slowly walked up to the apartment door and closed it turning around walking back to Judy while he began to speak, "When I find you, I'm going t put you through you in jail for so long long time."

Davis laughed while he said, "No, you won't!"

Then the phone call ended, and Nick yelled into it, "Davis ... Davis! Goddamnit!"

Nick fell to his knees in front of the couch where Judy lied, he put his phone back in his pocket, and he grabbed hold of Judy's paw, and he cooed, "Carrots, wake up ..." Nick let his head drop to the couch his nose millimeters from hers; he subtly moved closer letting his nose touch hers nudging it while he continued to say, "Wake up Carrots everything is okay, I'm here now, your safe ..."

Judy still didn't awake, realizing she wouldn't if he was able to yell and she, not wake, so he took his other paw and shook her slowly back and forth. Judy groaned but didn't awake, so he moved her slightly faster until her eyes began to open.

"Judy, hey, I'm right here you're safe now ...," He whispered with a smile of relief on his face.

"N-Nick, w-what happened?" Judy asked laying on the couch on her side while she stared into Nick's eyes that were filled with joy she was alright.

"A-A an animal came after us, b-but he's dead now ... Davis killed him," Nick said almost not believing it himself, hearing him say the words knowing that it meant this evil panther saved them.

"W-What?" She questioned while she tried to sit up.

Nick stood up and sat down beside Judy who was no longer lying on the couch but sitting as well; Nick looked to her and repeated what he said, "Davis he ... he stopped a murder from Killing you in front of me, he s-saved you ..."

"But why?" She begged for an answer.

"I ... I don't know, he doesn't make any sense to me, what he wants, what is his plan?" Nick asked knowing there would be no answer. "I have to figure out what he wants if I am to stop him from getting it," He ordered himself.

Judy no longer disoriented, looked up to him and asked, "How do you find that out, he won't tell you anything?"

Nick looked back down at Judy who was in disbelief herself that Davis saved them ad he replied swiftly with an answer he didn't like, "I don't know Carrots ... I don't know."

* * *

Judy went on the bed, and Nick got in beside her to stay with her while she felt uneasy about what happened. Nick tried to comfort her the best he could with the injuries he had, only wishing he didn't have them more and more as the night went on reaching its end. Judy fell asleep, and Nick didn't it being what generally happened after a nightmare this time it being much more than just that. The alarm for Nick to get up came and went, even he knew that it wouldn't be wise to go to work in this kind of pain, so he stayed by his wife side.

Olivia, however, worked through the Night only getting texted by Nick that it was Davis who took the shot that killed the Wild Dog. She had the road cleaned up and everything out by sunrise, she went back to the ZPD to try and find any evidence from security footage that could lead to where Davis was when he took the shot to where he went after, but nothing. Olivia found where he took the shot from, but afterward, the cameras didn't record a thing of Davis leaving the building or where he went. She knew Davis planned the downtime of the cameras for when he came and went.

Davis' skills were no match for anyone; he knew how to manipulate the weak minded. It being clear it was fun for him, easy picking, but the manipulation showed by him also revealed that he could lose control of the animals that became his slaves, death being the only option he cared for when such things occurred. Davis' real intentions were still unknown to everyone, but one thing about them had become clear, he didn't want Nick to die.

Olivia worked all day trying to find something that could link to Davis' whereabouts, but nothing showed up. It became evident, Davis was again hidden waiting for his next move. The one thing that puzzled Olivia was why he waited a year to reappear as he did, why was he waiting, what could be accomplished by doing so?

"The Date!" She thought, "Maybe it has something to do with the date."

So Olivia searched through archived events recorded to have happened years ago within three months of the current day. In the police records, she found hundreds if not thousands of crimes that took place in those three months in last year alone. One of them being, of course, the bombings Davis did, the date marking it a year since then had come and gone, so it had to be something else, something she was missing.

Olivia expanded the search in the archives to go back five years, for the months August, September, and October. Now there were tens of thousands of crimes, the numbers showing how the lacking in the police force in the ZPD let these crimes take place more often than they should. Olivia knew she had to narrow it down somehow, so the result wouldn't be too large. So she removed petty crimes from the list, such as petty theft, trespass, vandalism, and public intoxication. After removing as many small-time crimes that didn't amount to anything were removed the results went down to just under a thousand. The fact that so many horrible crimes like murder were able to be committed so, easily in Zootopia, shocked Olivia.

Now clear she wasn't going to find anything like this, Olivia gave up, for the time being, she needed more information about what crimes would be connected to Nick or Davis to narrow the search down.

The day was nearing its end, Olivia was exhausted, she worked hard throughout the night only getting a few hours of sleep before and none during the day, that time being used for other tasks.

Olivia couldn't do anything else without the information she needed to find, so she went home, and fell right into her bed not taking her clothes off, just immediately falling asleep in them.

* * *

Beep beep!

Olivia woke up to her alarm at five am, she smacked it and got up from her bed.

"Finally no one did something stupid overnight," Olivia mumbled to herself with relief that she got a full nights rest.

The tired red furred wolf got herself out of her clothes, she completely undressed, before grabbing a towel and heading to her bathroom to take a hot shower. Something she hadn't done in days because of what had happened.

Olivia stepped into the walk-in shower and turned it on the water quickly reaching the temperature she desired. Loose red fur fell to her feet and went down the drain as the hot water soaked her and soothed her sore muscles.

"Ahh, that's better ...," She cooed while rubbing her body with her paws to help the water seep down to the skin under her fur.

She grabbed the soap from the small ledge in the shower, Olivia rubbed it into her fur all over her body from her head and neck to her feet. The shampoo washed out draining dirt and more loose fur from her body. Then she just stood there letting the water hit her with its heat.

Her mind began to go blank until the thought of someone else entered it. She was okay with this; they brought a warm feeling to her one that the water helped start. Olivia let her arm fall, she moved her paw between her legs and felt herself, the heat the overwhelming feeling to touch herself came over her. Olivia reached down and began to rub.

"Mm ... nm, N-Nick," She stumbled out. Olivia opened her eyes to the water hitting her, and she realized what she was doing, quickly she stopped herself and said to herself, "What the hell is wrong with me? His wife is my friend ... I'm his friend, I-I'm so stupid."

Olivia turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, she turned on the body dryer and let it dry off most of the water before she took the towel and rubbed it anywhere that was still wet. The wolf was filled with self-hate for her own feelings for Nick. She groomed her fur and went back to her room to get a clean clothing. Olivia put on her undergarments then slipped on a pair of black cargo pants pulling a belt through the holes to hold it in place as well as place her gun and badge on. She grabbed a red shirt and pulled it over her upper body; then she grabbed her synthetic leather jacket pulling. She went back to her bathroom and brushed her teeth before turning off the lights and heading for the door.

She opened the door and standing there was someone she didn't expect to see.

"Hey, Liv ... how's it going?"

"Wha' ... what are you doing here?" She asked shock filling her eyes.

"I wanted to see my little sister, is that so wrong," The much taller, and stronger looking wolf said with a smile painted on his face while he stood in the doorway.

"Isaiah, it's not even six AM," She replied still confused as to why he showed up.

"Are you going to let me in?" He asked completely calm and not at all worried abut why it was so early.

Olivia moved out of the way, and Isaiah walked in with a grin stuck on his face, it reminding her of Nick's

"Okay, now tell me why are you here?" She ordered for an answer.

"What no hug?" he joked with a chuckle.

"Not until you tell me why you are here?" She demanded, crossing her arms leaning against the wall behind her.

Isaiah had sighed before he spoke, "Alright, I'm here because I need a place to stay."

Olivia's eyes widened as she asked, "Isaiah, what happened?"

"It's uh ... it's Mia; she left me," the red wolf said trying to hold back his tears. "She left for another wolf."

"Oh god," She replied stepping in to hug him. "I'm so sorry," She whispered.

"It's not your fault; it's mine, I ... I should have just ...," Isaiah studdered out.

"Isaiah it wasn't your fault," Olivia replied comforting her brother.

"But it is, I got mad at her, angry, I told her ... no, I begged her to change her mind, but she just didn't want to so I-I got mad and yelled at her I ...," He cried out not making any sense to Olivia.

"Isaiah, calm down," She said pulling away and looking up at her broken brother.

"I told her I wanted to start a family, and ... and she said that she would never start a family," He replied with a sniffle while he wiped his eyes.

"Oh god I'm so sorry," She replied pulling him back into a hug. "You can stay here with me, okay."

"Thank you, Liv, I-I would ask Abraham, but his wife doesn't like me, and Dad he and I aren't exactly on him best of terms ever since I left," He replied, grateful for his sister.

"Okay, I have to go to work, y-you'll be all right here on your own right?" Olivia asked while she moved away from her brother.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine," He replied.

Olivia smiled then walked out the front door closing it behind her. She began to walk away from the apartment still shocked by what just happened. Her brother showing up out of the blue begging for a place t stay because the girl he was with left him.

Olivia made her way down to her car and got in, she turned it on and turned on the heating plus the wipers to get the snow off the front window. She grabbed a brush and got back out of the car to clean all the snow off of the windows and the roof of the vehicle. Once she did, Olivia put the brush back in the car under her seat folded up. Olivia got back in and drove off heading for the ZPD Precinct One.

When she got there, Olivia went about her usual business like she did before Davis resurfaced, she didn't have anything to follow up on, no leads no information. Sometimes she felt like she was useless in finding or stopping Davis, that it was only ever Nick who managed to find him or get leads. Stopping him was Nick and her top priority and who could say otherwise, the ministration failed at bringing someone in to replace Eric after he left,

Nick always said, "they were afraid of making the same mistake the mayor did."

That may be true, but she knew there was a bigger reason, they didn't have anyone to spare for the job. With more and more coming to live in the city, expansions being planned and always being built the cops didn't have the power to do their jobs. Then there was the fact that more than ninety officers across the city were overdue for their retirement by at least three years because of it, and more than a hundred were nearing their retirement.

Because Davis was a cop before everything he knew this city, he knew how the police worked and how underpowered they had become. It gave him free reign to do what he wanted to get away with so many things.

Oliva sat down at her desk and logged in, she was alone, everyone out doing their job plus more, she was lucky to be part of the Davis case, or she would be working harder than she could probably deal with, the same goes for Nick. When they started taking on other cases in the year Davis spent hiding, Nick overworked himself, only being home four no more than four hours a day, most of the time spent stopping crime or putting someone away for it.

It's why she was relieved he had to stay home and get some rest before coming back to work, his mind needed to be fresh and not clouded by lack of sleep.

While Olivia cleaned up her reports the elevator dinged, she looked up and saw the doors open.

"Liv!" Nick yelled.

Olivia stood up, and with slight shock, in her eyes, she said, "Nick, what the hell are you doing here, you're supposed to be resting."

"I did, I got a whole day and night with my wife," He replied with a chuckle and a smirk plastered onto his muzzle.

"You can't be walking around with those injuries let alone working, they need time to heal," She ordered.

"Well I'm here now anyway, so why don't we get to work," Nick suggested while he walked passed Olivia, all the desks that had no one sitting at them and towards his desk. He sat down and slowly but not as slow as when he first got hurt trying to prove to her that he was fine while he spoke, "So ... what we got?"

"Nothing," She replied giving in knowing Nick was not going to leave. "We have nothing."

"Well, let's change that shall we," He so optimistically said with a smirk.

Olivia sighed and with frustration yelled out, "We can't Nick!" She calmed herself taking a deep breath before she said, "I can't find him anywhere even on video footage, he made sure the traffic cameras wouldn't be working when he got there and when he got out of there. I cataloged everything from the crime scene, when I found where the shot came from I found nothing to link to Davis, he's gone again." Olivia sat down and added, "I tried to find out why he waited so long to show up, but I couldn't I tried dates, events, crimes that all took place around this time back to five years ago, I couldn't find a thing." She turned to Nick and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have had anything bad happen to you in the past around this time?"

Nick wasn't one to remember dates, only remembering a few in his life mainly surrounding Judy when he met her when he confessed his feelings for her when they got engaged and got married. However, as he thought, another came to mind one that he could never forget.

"Oh god ...," Nick whispered to himself. "Liv what's the date?" HE demanded standing up from his chair it causing slight pain that he ignored.

"It's the twenty-fifth of August why?" She asked confused by his sudden shock and worry.

"The twenty-fifth ... Liv the twenty-fifth!" He shouted. "That's the day my ... my mother died," She said holding back his tears. "How could I have forgotten today's date," He mumbled.

"Nick, what's going to happen?" Olivia asked standing up from her desk while looking at Nick with shock in her eyes.

"I know where he is," Nick replied calmly while he began to walk to the lift.

"I'm coming with you," Olivia insisted.

"No!" He ordered turning around pointing at her. He sighed and added, "He could kill you, he will kill you, Davis wouldn't come up with a plan like this if Davis intended on having you there. I need to go alone; I'll be alright he won't kill me it's not what he wants."

Nick walked away heading to the lift, and Olivia knew he was right if she went Davis would kill her, so she stayed behind.

Nick went to the underground parking and found his car sitting in the same spot it was in before he had to leave it. Nick grabbed his keys from his pocket and pressed the electric to unlock, he opened the driver side door and got in closing the door and turning on the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and sped to the road where he drove with his sirens on so anyone in his way would move. He raced to the other side of town where a cemetery lined with hundreds of gravestones. Nick parked outside the entrance and got out of his car into the sunlight. He walked in and saw near the end a tall figure standing in front of a grave with a bouquet of flowers in his paws.

Nick walked up to him, and he just stood there staring at the Panther as he bent down and placed the flowers in front of the gravestone that was engraved, "Maggie Wilde, mother, wife friend."

Davis stood up and spoke without anger, without joy, without laughter, "I come here every year and place a bouquet of flowers by the gravestone adding one for every year that goes by since I took her life. It's been twenty years now, twenty years since I lost everything because of what I did."

Nick walked closer to Davis knowing he wouldn't hurt him and he asked, "Tell me why you've taken so many lives, killed my friends, my colleagues, why you've made my wife afraid to go outside to have any sense of life ... tell me why?"

"My time is running out Wilde, when it is near, you will know why I am doing all this, why I kill so many without mercy," He answered only looking down at the grave of Maggie Wilde.

Nick did the same he stared at the name of his mother who he missed so much while he said, "I know I can't stop you, I'm hurt, you're too powerful for me. I didn't bring anyone else; I knew you would kill them if I did."

"It was wise of you not to bring O'Neil here, I don't like killing, I would hate to have to take her life before her time," Davis softly spoke.

"You say that, but you've taken so many lives without a thought," Nick questioned.

"I've told you before, for things to move forward some must die, for what is to come next some must be sacrificed no matter how much I hate having to do it. I will not stop until what I have planned happens," Davis replied still looking down at the grave while the sun beat down on the two of them.

"You know I have to stop you; I will arrest you," Nick calmly said his vision breaking to finally take a look at Davis who had a tear in his eye.

"You won't arrest me, that's not my fate, it never will be, my fate is sealed along with what is to come," He said he too finally breaking his glare at the grave looking down at Nick before he wipes the single tear from his eye. he looked forward into the wilderness outside the city walls as he said, "I know about the nightmares, I know they torment you, as they have tormented me for so long, even before all this, back when I was someone else."

Nick didn't know what to say; he didn't care that Davis knew about his he cared more for the fact that he had nightmares.

"You get them too?" He asked.

"They've changed along the way, but yes, every night," Davis answered.

Both of them were silent, for what felt like an eternity neither of them spoke. They just stared into the wilderness.

"Give me your gun," Davis demanded.

Nick pulled his gun from his holster knowing there was nothing he could do to him to stop him from getting it, going along with what he said seemed the best course of action. Davis grabbed the gun from him, and within seconds he dismantled it into pieces placing them in Nick's paws before he turned around and began to walk away.

Davis stopped to say without turning around, "The next time we speak will be the last, but the pain I will cause you will be great, and you will be what I need."

He started to walk away going to his car that was without a doubt stolen, and he drove away leaving Nick there alone in the graveyard of his family, the place where all the Wildes inclouding his ancestors were buried.

Nick bent down in front of his mother's grave, and he wept, for hours he laid there on his knees crying, missing her, wishing it could be different.

After hours of just sitting there, Nick put his gun back together and placed it in his holster before he got up and walked away heading to his car.

Nick got in and turned it on; he drove away heading back to the ZPD to see it once again full of officers and detectives bringing in criminals that they were after all morning, many of them going back out to continue their work.

Nick walked up the stairs to the second floor of the ZPD he made his way through the hall and into the detective department, to see Olivia sitting at her desk filing paperwork and case reports for dozens of cases they worked before the return of Davis.

"Maggie," Nick said, Olivia suddenly hearing it over the noise of the detectives. She looked up to see Nick standing there, he sat down in his chair and continued to say, "Maggie Wilde, was my mother, and I loved her more than anything, probably more than I love Judy, but that's how its supposed to be. You're meant to love your mother more than anything, and now she's gone."

"I'm sorry, Nick," Olivia replied. The silence between them grew, and Olivia quickly broke it before it became awkward by asking, "What did Davis want?"

Nick leaned back placing his two feet on his desk, and he replied, "Nothing, he didn't want anything, but to speak. He's just trying to get into my head is all."

"Well, what did he say?" Olivia asked begging for an answer.

Nick let his head fall back everything becoming upside down. He sighed before sitting up taking his feet off the desk hiding the pain he just caused himself.

"Davis said that I was wise not to bring you, that he didn't want to take your life before it's time, Liv, if anything strange begins to happen, please tell me, and I'll be ready to kick some ass," He said with a badass look on his face.

"I should be worried, but ... this has become routine having our lives threatened by Davis," Olivia replied without worry for she knew he would one day come after her.

"Y-Yeah, I guess it has, but I don't want it to be, I want what I had before before he took it all away from Judy and me," He said not sharing the same lack of care as Olivia had.

"Y-Yeah, let's just continue, what else did he say," Olivia ordered trying to move Nick along with the briefing.

Nick smirked knowing why she wanted him to continue, so he agreed with her not letting her know he was fully aware of her feelings for him.

Then his smile faded, and he said, "He also told me that we would speak one last time and he will have caused me more pain, that I will be what he needs, whatever that means." His grin returned as he said, "Then he took my gun apart to pieces so I couldn't shoot him, I wasn't about to fight back, not in my condition."

"So what do you do now?" She asked while she thought about what Davis had said.

"Honest?" He asked looking up at her.

"Yeah," She replied.

Nick slowly sat up straighter as not to inflame his injuries before he said, "I believe he is smarter, faster, stronger, and harder to kill than we are, but ... I think despite all these things, we can beat him, I-I don;t know how, but ... we will."

Olivia didn't reply, but she believed him, she knew there had to be a way.

Her phone began to ring, so she pulled it out of her pocket and read the name, seeing it was her brother she sighed with annoyance.

"Who is it?" Nick asked curiosity eating him up.

"My brother, Isaiah, he showed up this morning," She hid the decline and continued to say, "he just broke up with his girlfriend and asked to stay with me for a while, but I can't talk with him right now, I'm busy."

"Ah, well, you shouldn't ignore him, he needs your help, so help him, I can cover for you, it's just some paperwork," Nick offered. He smirked nd added, "Did I ever tell you about how Judy and I would use paperwork as a betting tool?" Nick's smirk turned into a smile as he reminisced, "I would bet everything, I mean, I would lose all the time, but I-I didn't mind the paperwork, it gave Judy the time she needed to get some rest, Judy always went above and beyond in this job." His smile faded into a flat, expressionless face, as he thought, but didn't speak, "But after that night, it was all over, all the joke, the betting, the happiness, died."

"Thanks, Nick, I=I promise I'll make it up to you," Olivia said suddenly breaking Nicks train of thought.

"Oh ... uh, yeah, no ... no problem, just go be with your brother, he clearly needs you," He replied.

"Olivia stood up and grabbed her things, she began to walk away, but she stopped turning around to say, "Nick?"

"Yeah Liv," Nick replied looking up from his computer that he was busy logging into.

"I ... I'll see you tomorrow," She replied hesitantly in her words.

"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning," Nick said with a smile before he looked back to the computer screen to finish typing in his password.

Olivia turned around and walked to the elevator, she waited for the doors to open, then walked in taking the lift down to the underground parking. The doors closed the elevator jolted and moved down, after thirty seconds, it subtly shook again while it stopped, made a "ding," and the doors opened.

She walked to her car, she unlocked it and got in.

"Stupid, stupid!" She yelled t herself. "You need to tell him, goddamnit!"

She pulled the seatbelt over her and clicked it in before turning the vehicle on putting it into drive and pulling out of the parking. Olivia drove through the noon traffic, she left the inner city and drove through the Tundra tunnel bringing her from a warm sunny climate to a winter controlled snowing one. She turned on her wipers and changed the air conditioning to heating.

Her thoughts raced, her mind not being able to get off of Nick, she needed them to stop.

"It isn't right, this isn't okay," She would think to herself over and over.

But that didn't stop them; she kept on thinking about him, about how fearless he was when in reality he was terrified. How he held a straight face when needed, but smirked, grinned, or smiled pleasantly when he wished, his green eyes saying so many things, some good many bad, but their glisten saying he made it through them all, that he was going to be okay.

There was no stopping the thoughts, but he loved someone else, and she couldn't take that from him, no matter how much she had fallen for him, Nick was with Judy, and that was never going to change. Olivia was okay with that but wasn't, she wanted him, but didn't, knowing he was happier with Judy that they were meant for each other.

Olivia pulled up to the apartment building where she lived; She drove into the underground parking, she wasn't about to leave a car like hers out in the open. She parked in a space saved for her because she lived there. Olivia exited the car and slammed the door shut before locking it.

She walked to the stairwell and opened the door to them; she walked up the flights of stairs reaching her floor. Olivia pushed open the door and walked passed a few apartments before walking up to hers. She grabbed her keys and stuck then in the doors, but when she felt the knob it was unlocked, so she pulled her keys out putting them back in her coat pocket. She opened the door walking in to see it was dark, darker than usual for an afternoon.

"Isaiah!" She called out, "You still here?"

Olivia walked into her apartment; she closed the door the light being extinguished when the door shut. She searched the wall briefly for the light switch, once she found it, Olivia flipped it up, and the front entrance and kitchen light turned on. She looked around not seeing her brother anywhere, so she walked over to the living room she turned on the light to see Isaiah sleeping on the couch his arm fallen off his phone in the paw on the ground.

"Isaiah," She softly spoke walking up to her brother to place her paw on his forehead.

she briefly stroked his head like you would a loved one, she smiled before it faded, Olivia subtly smacked Isaiah in hs cheeks so he would wake up.

"Isaiah, wake up, it's me," She said slightly louder than before.

The tired red wolf opened his eyes, they were bloodshot, for he had been crying for hours. He sat up and stretched before rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Liv," He mumbled.

Olivia sat down beside her brother who she knew was broken, "You called, I ... I'm sorry I didn't answer, but I-I'm here now, and I'm ready to listen."

Isaiah leaned back on the couch while he dragged his paws down hs face, "I don't know where to start, Liv, I-I've lost everything, I've lost the woman I love."

"Just start at the beginning, I'll be here for you okay," She replied with a subtle smile as she placed her paw on his knee.

Olivia listened to her brother; she listened to the joy, the happiness, the sadness, and the heartbreak. She let him cry over her shoulder, while she said, everything is going to be okay." Isaiah discussed why Mia left him, why he didn't stop her, or why he should have. For hours they talked while Liv made sure her brig brother was okay.

Isaiah smiled he pulled Olivia into a hug while he spoke, "Thank you so much, thank you for letting me stay, for just listening when you have a job to do."

"Yeah, it's crazy alright," She replied with a chuckle before moving away from her brother.

"I don't know how you manage being a detective, not to mention you had to deal with those bombs last year," He added, "Did you ever catch the animal who did it?"

"Uh, no we didn't," She replied, disappointedly with her answer. her tone became more emotional as she went on to say "Davis is still out there, taking lives, the other day I had to tell some foxes that their son was never coming home, that Davis killed them."

"That must've been hard for you to do," Isaiah replied lacking a smile unlike moments before.

Olivia spoke up e voice becoming brittle as she went on, "It was more than hard, I see animals die every day. I've had to take life, Isaiah, having to tell someone their kid is dead i-is ... is near impossible."

"I think it's my turn to be hugging you when you need it," Isaiah said with a subtle smile for a brief moment before pulling his sister int a hug, not for him but for her.

"Hmm, I miss this ... I miss you, I miss Abraham, I miss dad," Olivia said while she felt the tender embrace of her brother who cared for her deeply.

The big wolf let go of his sister before he said looking into her blue eyes with his brown eyes, "Y-yeah, I do too, but we grew up, you became a cop, Abraham, a doctor, and I became a carpenter." He smiled as he said, " We all do different things with various problems, mine not as hard as yours, but they do exist. We lost track of who we were before who we became, it's life, but remember, this life is ours, and we can make a choice to see each other more."

"You're right Isaiah, but how can I when I have to do so much, fight a losing battle?" She asked him still stressed and brittle. "The ZPD is falling apart!" She yelled standing up from the couch. "I-I mean we don't have enough officers for a city this big, Isaiah, my precinct doesn't even have a chief, why does precinct one not have a goddamn chief of police?"

Isaiah stood up and placed his paws on Olivia's shoulders and tried to calm her down, "Liv, take a breath, the ZPD isn't falling apart it can't."

"It is, Isaiah," she calmly said. Then her calmness disappeared as she yelled out, "I wasn't ready to be a detective, but they threw me into this job because they needed them. Nick, my partner, wasn't ready, he has been a cop for less time than I have, sure he's the best damn detective on the force, but he wasn't ready in the beginning. I'm still not ready; he's the only reason I'm still here, the only reason Davis hasn't killed me is Nick." Olivia sat back down; she sighed before saying, "The ZPD is thin, they don't have the resources they need to keep this city safe, I mean, how can someone blow up two bombs and get away with it? He walks the streets of Zootopia, and no one can stop him, the law can't stop him, he was the law!

Isaiah looked down at his feet, then to his sister before he said, "I wish I could understand I really do. He smiled as he said, "but Liv, you are an amazing detective, and if this Nick guy is as good as you say he is, then you two can stop him."

"I-I want to believe that, Nick says the same thing, but how can I?" She asked while looking down at the floor beneath her. "He's always ten steps ahead of us, and whenever we think we are getting close, he escapes because it's what he wants."

"Liv, no one is invincible, he will be stopped, you will stop him, I know you can, I believe you can," Isaiah encouraged with a faint smile, placing his paw on her shoulder.

Olivia looked up to her brother, and she said, "Thank you, today has been a strange one at that."

"Yes, it has," He chuckled, "Now tell me more about this Nick guy."

"Nick is the first ever Fox to be a cop," She replied.

"Y-You mean, your partner is ... is him, the Nick Wilde, the first fox to be a cop, the fox that helped the first bunny cop save Zootopia?" he asked shocked by what he was just told.

"Y-yeah, he's my best friend, so is Judy, his wife," She replied understanding his surprise, for they were heroes to all predators, Nick and Judy, being the ones who stopped the whole world from looking down at predators. To her it was just another piece of her life, she had been working with him for a year, and it had lost its shock.

"Liv, how come you never told me your partner at the ZPD was Nick Wilde, I-I mean he has been the first for so many things, not to mention the pred/prey relationship he's in with Judy Hopps," He said practically fangirling over them. "You have to let me meet him," he begged.

"I'll see what I can do, Nick is an amazing animal, he's an amazing fox, he's also a joker, that's for sure, kind of reminds me of you sometimes," Olivia replied with a smirk.

Isaiah chuckled while saying, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You're welcome," She replied with a grin one similar to Nick's

Isaiah and Olivia talked some more laughing and smiling along the way. It was something they both missed, something they desired to have with one another once again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nick was at the ZPD, he was still in pain from the day before, but it was beginning to leave him, the bruising had healed quickly and the cuts and ripped the skin from when he was thrown had started to improve.

Nick was finishing the last of days worth of paperwork; he worked for hours reaching deep into the night until he got a call.

Nick grabbed his phone from his desk and saw it was Judy, so clicked answer and put the phone to his ear saying, "Hey Carrots, sorry I have a lot of paperwork to do."

"How did you get so much?" She asked with a soft tone.

"Oh Olivia's older brother showed up at her apartment, he needed someone to confide in, so I ordered her to go see her brother," Nick answered with a grin across his face.

Judy replied sounding somewhat disappointed as she said, "Oh, I-I wanted to know if you were close to done so you could come home, I want ... need your help with something, I can't do it alone, and I need you."

"Carrots are you okay?" Nick asked his smirk leaving his face for one of worry.

"Y-Yeah I-I'm fine, it's just something I need to do that I'm not ready to do on my own," Se replied reassuring, Nick, that she was okay.

"O-Oh, what is it?" HE asked with relief.

Judy sighed hesitantly at first before she finally said, "Nick I ... I want to ... to go outside, I want to leave this apartment for once, I-I don't want to be stopped because I-I'm afraid, I ned to do this."

Nick smiled, and he said, "I'll be there as fast as I can, I was almost done anyway, I'll just finish this tomorrow."

"I love you, Nick," She said with a pleasant voice.

"I love you too Judy, I'll see you soon," He replied before ending the call putting his phone in his pocket.

Nick stood up and grabbed his overcoat for his suit; he slipped it on before grabbing his holster with his gun inside of it off his desk strapping it to his belt. Nick logged off his computer and put the rest of the paperwork back into its file, he opened the drawer and dropped the file in it closing the drawer. He grabbed his keys and locked all the drawers with sensitive information; then he walked towards the elevator. He clicked the button, and the lift made it's way to the floor, the doors opened, and he got in, Nick hit the button to take him to the parking lot, he waved at the only other detective there doing the sam thing he was, then the doors closed. The lift jolted and made its way down to the underground parking, the doors opened, and Nick walked out heading to his car.

Nick got into his challenger turning it on and quickly pulling out of the parking lot, heading above ground to reach the street. He luckily didn't run into traffic it being after midnight, once he reached home, Nick parked his car in the parking spot for his apartment number. He got out and headed to his apartment. Walking up the flight of stairs to the ground floor before taking the elevator to the sixth floor.

Nick opened the door to his apartment, and he said calmly, "Carrots I'm home, Carrots."

Nick closed the door behind him and walked into the large open room to see Judy sitting on the couch wearing one of Nick's T-shirts it being so big that it was practically a dress for her.

"Hey Nick," Judy softly said.

Nick sat down beside Judy, and he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm ... I'm not really sure actually," Judy replied looking up at Nick with a smile while he smiled back at her.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked as he extended his paw to touch Judy's cheek caressing it.

Her eyes closed as Nick's subtle touch warmed her, she took hold of his paw pulling it closer to her so the side of her face would be in his paw.

"I want to go to where you asked me to marry you," She answered.

Nick smiled and replied, "I can do that."

Judy grabbed Nick's other paw with hers; she intertwined her small fingers with his pressing her palm into his.

"You ned to get dressed," Nick pointed out.

"I-I know ... just give me a minute," She replied closing her eyes feeling Nick's warmth on her cheek.

She wanted to feel his touch his warmth; it brought a calm to the storm within her mind. Her fears, anger, pain, hatred, her brokenness all calmed by the single touch of his paw against hers.

A few minutes went by Nick just sat there holding her cheeks subtly rubbing his thumb back and forth while his other paw was pressed against Judy's.

Judy opened her eyes and said, "Alright, I'll go get dressed."

Nick let go of Judy's cheek as she stood up walking away from his their arms reaching out while holding each others paw until she was too far for them to touch and she let go. Judy went to their bedroom she pulled off the huge shirt and grabbed her undergarments from her dresser. She found a pair of blue jeans, Judy slipped into them before grabbing her pink plaid button up shirt. She pushed the arms through the sleeves and buttoned up the shirt.

Judy took in a deep breath before leaving the room.

Nick was standing facing the kitchen while he heard Judy walk out he turned around and smiled before he asked, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied still speaking with a soft voice.

Judy walked up to Nick, she grabbed his paw, and they walked through the front door to their apartment Nick closing it behind them. Nick clicked the down arrow on the lift, and after twenty seconds the elevator doors opened. Nick and Judy walked in and went down to the first floor, the doors opened, and they walked out, still holding each others paw.

"You can do this Judy, I know you can overcome this," Nick encouraged his wife, truly believing she could overcome all that controlled her.

Judy started to walk forward, and Nick followed, the came closer and closer to the doors. Judy's heart rate rose, she began to shake as the gap between the inside and outside closed. Five feet, four feet, three, two, one. Nick opened the door, and the cold midnight breeze hit them.

Her fear gripped her; it became more profound than ever as they took the first step out.

"I-I ... I can't d-do this," She cried out, she backed up and fell back into the doorway. Nick had caught her before she fell and she began to cry, "I can't, Nick I'm scared, I-I can't."

Nick brought her back inside, and he comforted her, "Shh ... it's okay; I'm here, Judy I'm here."

"I'm too scared Nick," She cried out, "I can't leave!"

Nick held her close while she cried in his arms on the floor of the empty lobby. He couldn't help but feel her pain, know the struggle of doing something you feared, more and more he began to see he wasn't the only one controlled by fear. If they were to make it out of the fear, the control, they would need each other.

Nick looked Judy in the eyes he saw he wiped the tears from them and said, "Yes you can. I know you can do this, You're strong Judy, stronger than me, I know you can overcome this, and I will be here every step of the way, he will not hurt you, no one will take you away from me."

"I can't," She cried out.

"Don't say you can't it will only make it seem right when it's not, you can do this, you don't have to tonight but, you can do this," He said with confidence and strength.

Judy wanted to believe him, she desperately wanted to overcome her fear of the world, but every time he came close to the outside the thought of Davis taking her again gripped her, the idea of him finally killing her and taking her away from Nick scared her.

Judy looked up at Nick, and he rubbed her cheek with the back of his paw while Judy said to him, "I-I love you, Nick."

"I know Judy, I love you too," he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

Nick stood up, he helped Judy up, and they went back to their apartment, they got undressed, and held one another in their arms. That night neither of them slept, for all that terrified them was in their thoughts, and the only thing keeping them from giving in was each other.

* * *

Hello there, I hope you liked the chapter if you did and you like the whole story consider following and/or favoriting the story, so you know whenever I post a new chapter. If you have a question, an opinion, suggestion or just a compliment, please leave me a review.

This chapter was a little different for this story, but I felt it was needed, I needed to develop characters that I feel are missing depth to them, and there's the development of Nick and Judy's relationship and Judy's fears. I also made a small spelling change, whenever I spelled the shortened form of Olivia's name I spelled it as "Live," Now I spell it as "Liv" that's all for today have a great day.

Until next time


	19. Damage

Chapter Nineteen: Damage

Revenge only consumes what Evil has left you.

* * *

Nick stared up at the ceiling while he laid on his bed with Judy close to him, his arm wrapped around her. They both didn't sleep the night away, too many thoughts of what was to come, or what they needed to do to overcome so many fears filled their heads. They were silent, together, but no words were murmured that night once they fell into their bed.

The clock his five thirty and started to beep, Nick reached out to the night table on his side of the bed and smacked the alarm turning it off.

Judy finally spoke asking, "Do you really have to go?"

Nick glanced at her in his arms leaning on his chest, and he said, " I don't want to, but I have to."

"Please don't go," She begged moving closer into his embrace his fur giving her warmth.

Nick moved her ears to the side and kissed the top of her head before he said, " I love you so much."

"Please stay just awhile longer," She pleaded him while she sat up.

Nick too sat up, and Judy fell closer into his embrace while he contemplated, "I ... Okay, but just for a little longer."

Judy smiled pleasantly before she pulled Nick into a deep kiss, feeling the warmth of his mouth and tongue in hers, the taste of his saliva invading hers. She broke the kiss taking a breath before saying, "I love you too."

Nick smiled before leaning forward into another kiss; he fell forward while he felt her tongue with his. The blanket was no longer on them, but they were on it, and their nakedness was exposed to the cold yet to be heated room. Nick broke the kiss a few times reentering to her only seconds after taking a breath. He was still in pain from when he got into the fight, but not enough for it to stop him from being intimate with his wife.

Nick started kissing Judy's neck and ears, biting the ends subtly as she loved, but then she stopped him by pushing him up.

"Oh d-did I bit too hard I-I'm sorry," Nick blurted out while he held himself above Judy with his arms.

"N-No, it's just ... you shouldn't have to do all the work, you're still recovering," Judy replied seductively.

"Carrots I'm all right," He replied completely oblivious to her tone.

Judy grinned and demanded, "Don't ruin the moment."

"O-Okay," He replied still oddly confused, quickly coming to the realization of what she wanted to do, his eyes widening to the fact.

Judy pushed Nick onto his back, and she now laid on top of his clothless chest. She smiled before once again kissing him, she broke the kiss quickly to move down to his neck then chest, just like Nick would do to her.

"I should let you do this more often," he chuckled while he placed his paws on her back.

Judy kept on kissing his chest then made her way down to his stomach, but Nick squirmed when she kissed him.

"N-No, I'm t-too ticklish there," he stumbled out trying not to laugh and hold himself steady.

Judy smiled, and she knew what was to come next, Nick's body was there long before her own thoughts, she could say the same for hers. Judy sat up on Nick's chest her legs on each side of his body, she smiled and said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Nick glanced behind Judy at his own lower body then back up at her before saying with a smirk painted on his muzzle, "I didn't have to."

Judy turned herself around so she would no longer face Nick, she fell forward her nose just barely touching the heat filled part of him.

Despite being married for more than four years, this wasn't something she and Nick did often. Not that she didn't want to, she was more than willing, Judy loved him, and everything about him down to the most intimate of places. However, Nick always felt that asking her to give him that kind of pleasure would seem forceful. Judy always said she didn't care if he asked her, that she would in a heartbeat, but Nick was set in his ways.

Today that didn't matter; she was going to whether he asked or not.

"Carrots are you ..." Nick said with his paws on her hips.

"Nick, honey, I want to do this, but if you want I'm all yours," She replied with a grin and a voice filled with seduction.

"How can I argue with that?" He questioned with a smirk and a subtle chuckle.

Judy looked ahead of herself, she felt him in her paws, Nick gave in and let her do as she pleased and offered. As Judy felt him, Nick began to do wonders for her, despite their difference in height, it wasn't enough to stop Nick from getting his muzzle close to her. Feeling him in her paws wasn't enough for her or him, she let out her tongue and started from the bottom and made her way to his tip, her saliva that now coated it warming to the same heat as he was.

Nick had his. Muzzle in between Judy's legs as he immersed his mouth inside of Judy. She moaned as his long tongue reached deep within her. Judy opened her mouth, and she pushed him inside of her, the heat warming her. They both continued to pleasure one another, Nick only getting better as time went on, making it hard for Judy to keep on going herself.

Judy pulled herself away from Nick's lower body she sat up as she panted and moaned.

Nick's had to stop briefly for she was no longer exposed to his muzzle.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked taking a breath, "I didn't bite you did I?"

"N-No, I-I'm just having trouble with this," she answered as she panted.

"Oh is it too big for you to fit in?" Nick questioned with a grin.

"D-Don't flatter yourself Hon I-I've gotten used to your size and shape," she replied as she regained her breath, "you're just really good with your tongue Okay, I-I'm trying not to bite down you know."

"Do you want me to stop?" Nick questioned looking at the back of Judy's head for she was still facing away from him.

Judy laid back onto Nick's chest and stomach she looked up at his face that was no between her ears and she said, "N-No I love it, I just want to do this for you."

"Carrots you don't have to do ... this," He again said with his soft voice.

"Just call it what it is, a blowjob, y-you don't get it do you, Nick?" Judy questioned. Judy turned onto her stomach and leaned up holding her upper body above Nick's head with one arm and continued to say, "Honey, I get why you don't want to ask me to do this. I understand you don't want to seem forceful, but I want to do this, and I'm going to do this."

"Okay," Nick softly said.

Nick took hold of Judy's back with one arm and used his other to help pulled himself up into a sitting position. He shuffled himself around so he could lean against the back of the bed.

Judy still in his arms questioned what he was doing, "Nick what is this?"

"You wanted to suck me off so do it," He ordered looking down at her.

Judy smiled and happily agreed to do what he asked of her. Nick let go of her, and she slid down her whole body stroking him as she fell. Judy grabbed his heat filled member, and Nick closed his eyes as she held it. Judy opened her mouth and immersed the hot, saliva covered mess into her.

Nick subtly moaned as Judy slid him in and out of her, he grabbed the back of her head and began to push and pull her away and towards him. Judy pulled away and gasped for air, she gripped his wet member in her paws and stroked it up and down as she caught her breath.

"Holy shit," Nick blurted out. "keep going," He pleaded.

Judy just smiled, Nick was finally asking more of her while in bed even if she had to force him a little to ask. She retook him inside of her, with one paw she pressed against the knot at the end of his privates and with the other his sweat covered sack that was laying on the bed getting covered in her saliva.

Judy didn't stop she just went on for three, four, five minutes until Nick came close to his climax.

"C-Carrot's I'm g-getting pretty close here, y-you might want to stop," Nick stuttered out holding back his release with all his strength.

But Judy didn't care she was going to finish what she started, she pushed him deeper into her mouth reaching her throat, her lips touching his knot.

Nick moaned out practically yelling as his climax broke out and released within Judy. She held him in her for a few more seconds but had no choice but to pulled away from Nick to gasp for air.

Both Nick and Judy were breathing heavily Judy wiped her mouth then gulped.

"D-Did you just?" Nick questioned lacking breath as he continued to release onto the bed.

"W-What? I wasn't going to spit it out, I don't need an even bigger mess," Judy replied making a lame excuse for slowing what was in her mouth.

"I ... don't think that matters now," Nick said glancing down at the mess dripping from the tip of his privates and off the bottom of his most sensitive parts.

Judy had chuckled before she fell onto her back beside him.

"You're too much for me sometimes you know that?" Nick said with a grin as he regained his breath.

"I love you, Nick," Judy replied pleasantly.

"I know," he answered with a chuckle, "You have a great way of showing me that. They both had laughed before Nick looked down at his wife stroking her cheek as he said with a smile of joy, "I love you too."

They both laid there, Judy holding onto his arm pulling herself close to his side and he slowly ran his paw down the back her her head and neck, just to go back to the top to start again.

Judy's eyes widened, her ears perked, heart beginning to race right before she said, "Nick there's someone at the door.

"Who would be here this early?" Nick questioned.

Nick got out of bed his member still being half hardened, he slipped into a pair of boxers and walked out of the room closing the door behind himself. Nick walked into the dark living room, and toward the front door, he looked through the small hole in the door and saw it was Olivia. He reached for the doorknob and opened the door to the dressed wolf.

"Oh geez Wilde, cover that up!" Olivia screamed, his privates not being fully covered by the boxers.

"Oh shit," He replied as he pulled the rest of the undergarments over himself, "Sorry I didn't mean to, uh what are you doing here?"

Olivia glanced back at him only seeing an outline of what was between Nick's legs, she quickly looked up to his eye level and responded, "well for one it's six twenty-three AM, and we've got a case, a bad one. I tried to call you, but you didn't answer."

"That long, wow time flys when you're doing it," Nick chuckled but quickly stopped himself as he remembered what he suspected Olivia felt for him. "Uh sorry ... that one was a little too far, even for me."

"N-No, it's okay," She replied doing her absolute best to hide her feelings just like Nick had taught her, "Just hurry up and get dressed this is a bad one."

"Oh, right," He replied regaining his train of thought, "Uh ... come in I'll be ten minutes at most."

Olivia agreed, she wished she didn't have to, now was not the best time to reveal her feelings and being in his home only made it harder for her to keep quiet.

Olivia shut the door behind her and Nick walked over to his bedroom, he quickly opened and closed the door.

He spoke out, "It was-"

"I know," Judy said stopping him from finishing his sentence.

Nick searched through his closet for a clean suit; he looked through all his clothing until he came across his black suit, the same one he wore on his first day as a detective, over a year ago. However, it wasn't ripped up like the last time he had it on; he had it repaired at a tailor, just like half a dozen other suits he now owned. His wardrobe had definitely changed over the past year, well it had changed a lot before then too, becoming cop calls for new clothes, but now he was a detective, and all he wore was suits.

Nick pulled the black suit out, and he started slipping into it.

"Nick," Judy murmured.

"Yeah Carrots?" Nick replied while he pulled his wrinkleless pants on.

"I have to try again, we both know that," she answered both of them knowing what she was talking about.

Nick pulled his belt through the loops on the pants, and he zipped it up before he asked, "Do you want to try now?"

"I ... don't know," She answered before climbing off the bed.

Judy leaned into Nick pressing her head against his toned abs feeling the fur against her cheek she wrapped her arms around him, and she closed her eyes. Nick sighed subtly before he held her upper back with his paws slowly rubbing up and down.

Judy opened her eyes and moved her head up, her neck now feeling the abs against it, and she said, "I kept telling myself every day, every night, that I felt safe here, with you, but ... I realize I feel safe with you here because I'm with you." She turned her head so that her check would be pressed against him as she continued, "That it doesn't matter where I am, I'm only safe with you. I'm free of fear in this apartment because all I can feel, all I can see and smell, is you. The scent of you everywhere in this apartment makes me feel safe."

"I promise you, Judy, he won't hurt you again," Nick implored.

"I love you," She replied still holding herself close to him.

"I know ... and I love you," Nick murmured.

Judy pulled away from Nick, and he let go of her, Judy got dressed in the same clothing as the night before seeing as it was only worn for an hour at most, Nick finished getting into his suit. He buttoned up the white collared undershirt, and he tied the blue tie around his neck, before putting on the overcoat to the suit.

"You know we need to talk to her about her feelings for you," Judy insisted.

"What feelings?" He asked sarcastically. "Carrots the only feelings she has for me are ones of friendship and partnership," He added while he grabbed his phone from the night table pulling it off the charger and sticking it in his pocket. "Look she's just going through some stuff, we all are, I'm sure what you have read as feelings for me are just her dealing with her problems, " He said while stepping his holster with gun and badge to his belt.

"Maybe, but look at us," She answered, "We were 'just friends, ' and we were, 'just partners,' but now we are in love with each other in ways four years ago I couldn't possibly have imagined loving someone."

Nick sat beside Judy and replied, "Okay, maybe she does, but maybe she doesn't, besides the fact, I'm not talking to her about it today, she said we have a case."

"We need to at some point," Judy implored.

Nick stood up and smiled, before reaching out to Judy with his paw ready to grab hers as he said, "I know, and we will, just not today."

Judy took hold of his paw, and he helped her stand up, before she asked, "Promise?"

Nick raised one arm into the air and said with a grin, even though he was serious, "I Nicholas Piberius Wilde promise to confront Olivia with you by my side about her feelings she may or may not have for me."

"Good," She replied with a smile.

Nick opened the bedroom door, he and Judy walked out going towards the living room where Oliva stood facing away from them.

"Liv, are you ready to go?" Nick calmly asked.

Olivia turned around and said hiding her startled self for she was just in a daze, "yup."

Nick looked down at Judy with a smile, he bent down and gave her quick kiss on the lips before saying, "I'll be back tonight, alright. I love you."

"Love you too," She replied while Olivia looked the other way trying her best to hide what she was feeling.

"Alright, Liv, what is this case we have?" Nick questioned as he started to walk towards the door.

Oliva followed closing the door as she said, "There was an attack ... on precinct seven."

"Wait, what?" Nick replied stopping suddenly turning around to look at Olivia.

"Precinct seven was attacked," She repeated herself.

"Liv, that's the precinct Davis worked at," He exclaimed, "We need to get there now."

Nick rushed to the Lift, Liv following, they got in and took it down to the first floor where Liv got off, for her car was parked out front, where Nick rode it down one more level to get to the parking garage where he parked his. He got in and drove it out of the garage; he followed close behind Olivia's car as they quickly made their way through the morning traffic to Precinct seven which was located between the Meadow Lands and the City Central.

Once they reached the precinct and surrounding it was around dozen officers, eight EMTs, and four ambulances. Nick and Olivia both parked their cars turning them off before getting out int the cold air and sunless sky.

Nick walked up to Olivia, and he looked up at the gray sky, "It's going to rain soon, better hope any forensics outside is done or a lot of evidence might be washed away."

Olivia silently agreed, the two detectives walked over to the precinct ducking under the caution tape. They both pulled out their badges showing them to the bear standing ground making sure no one just walked right in.

The two walked past the EMTs who had to wait for evidence to be collected before removing what looked to be more than one body. Officers were standing guard making sure no one walked in across the whole perimeter of the building and any civilians that were in the precinct at the time; were having their statements taken.

Nick and Olivia walked past a few more officers and through the front doors to the much smaller building compared to the precinct one building which was triple the size.

Immediately on entering the noise of police officers and radios could be heard. Nick looked at the front desk, blood covered the top, and it spilled down the front of it.

"You!" Nick shouted indicating to an elephant. Nick walked up to the elephant who looked down at him, and he questioned, "detective Wilde, were is your chief?"

The elephant at first neglected to answer, but then said after a sigh of disbelief in what he was about to say, "He's dead."

Nick looked at Olivia who was standing beside him then looked back up to the elephant asking, "if he's dead, then who's in charge?"

"If you're detective Wilde, then you are, we were just following protocol before you showed up," he answered firmly slightly unsure of how to feel about what happened. "And I'm assuming you're Detective O'Neil?" He questioned looking down at the short wolf.

"Yes I am, and you would be?" She answered.

"I'm officer Daniel Price," Price replied pointing to his badge that had his name engraved upon it.

"Can you tell us what happened here?" Nick interjected as he glared at the blood on the desk.

The elephant looked around him hesitant to answer but quickly did with speeding trough what happened, "There was an attack as you know, but i-it wasn't a bunch of animals it was just one Panther, he killed ... too many he was ruthless, I-I don't know what he was after, but he got it!"

"Calm down Officer Price," Olivia ordered before asking, "How many were killed?"

The elephant rubbed his head while he thought, his memory getting the best of him for he was throwing himself into shock just talking about his dead friends and colleagues.

"Uh, two civilians, and, and six officers one detective, and ... and the Chief," He stumbled out while trying to do as Olivia commanded.

"Alright, Officer Price, you may leave, go take a seat and calm yourself, "Nick said with an angerless tone, despite the amount of death caused by one animal for a reason they had yet to find.

The brittle eyes officer walked away leaving Nick and Olivia ten feet away from blood covered reception.

"The body is still behind the desk, we need to have everything photographed," Nick stated.

Nick walked over to the reception and looked by the chair, laying there with two bullets in his head was a buck. Nick pulled out his phone and started snapping photos of the body and the blood surrounding it, plus anything out of place.

"He was shot tries in the head and fell onto the desk, but he's too far from where he was killed," Nick thought out loud.

Olivia had put on some gloves and was bagging small pieces of evidence while she questioned, "What do you think happened for him to get on the floor on the other side of the desk.

"Davis was looking through reception, he pushed the body away," He answered. Nick pointed to the drawers while saying, "The blood has been smeared on the drawers, he opened them and looked for something.

Nick snapped a few photos of the half opened and some closed drawers before opening them all the way only to find a mess of papers, files, and other miscellaneous objects.

He took photos of everything before touching them with his gloved paws.

"I don't think you're going to find anything here Nick, he went looking through the precinct for whatever it is he needed from here," Olivia pointed out.

"Davis worked here; maybe there was something he left behind before all this started," Nick theorized. Nick finished photographing the evidence before he stood up shouted out, "Anyone here know where the M.E. is?"

"I'm right here!" a voice shouted out.

Nick looked to his left and walking over to him was the British deer that worked at precinct one.

"Doctor Sharp, where is the M.E. for this station?" Nick asked hoping he would have the answer.

"Alex called me in, he wasn't able to make it, he was already dealing with the murder of an antelope near Savanah Square," The deer answered while walking up to Nick and Olivia. "So how many bodies do we have?" He questioned.

"There's ten, they're all around the precinct, officers are sealing off the areas now," Nick replied walking out from behind the desk.

Doctor sharp's eyes widened, and he asked, "t-ten? My god, who is responsible for this?"

Nick's tone deepened as he said, "Davis, Davis did this."

Nick and Olivia continued to search through the precinct going from crime scene to crime scene where more and more bodies laid Doctor Sharp following close behind having every closed covered body examined before it being taken away by the EMTs until they came up to the chief's office. It was the only place yet to be photographed and filed.

At the front door stood a tiger not letting anyone in.

Nick and Olivia walked up to the yellow and blacked striped cat he looked up at him and saw the two gold stars on each of his shoulders, so he said, and Nick said, "assistant chief?"

"Detectives," He replied with a deep voice.

"I remember when we had an assistant chief, but that was more than a year ago now," Nick replied while he fiddled with his badge. "I need to get in there," He added showing his badge to the tiger.

Olivia did the same, and he examined them before saying, "Alright."

The tiger moved out of the way and opened the door and let them walk in.

"Oh and when our M.E. is finished let him in too," Nick added right before walking in.

He had nodded before he closed the door behind them.

Nick looked around; the blood spattered onto the wall to the left of the large desk, he and Olivia, walked around to see leaning forward in his chair his head on the top of the bureau a blood-covered rhino.

"This has to be where it ended; it doesn't look like there was a struggle in here," Nick stated.

"Nick, what was so important that he had to kill so0 many animals to get to it?" Olivia asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer.

"I don't know Liv, but it's definitely connected to his plan for us," He replied with worry himself while he snapped photos. Nick looked around and noticed something before he said with a sudden change of tone, "It looks like whatever he was looking for he found, the room isn't trashed like the others or the desks he ripped through,"

"Unless he found it somewhere else and he just killed the chief for the fun of it," Olivia snapped.

"No, Davis doesn't kill unless he feels it's necessary, to him, killing this rhino for no reason isn't something he does," Nick shot down, "He came in here and found what he was looking for."

Olivia scanned the room one last time when she noticed the broken picture frame on the ground. She walked over to it, took a picture of it then picked it up with gloves.

"Nick!" she yelled.

"What is it Liv?" Nick questioned rushing over to her.

"This picture frame is broken, and there isn't a picture in it," She answered turning the glass side to Nick.

"He came here for a picture?' Nick asked almost enraged. "Hey! get in here!" Nick yelled to the tiger standing at the door.

He turned around and opened the door asking, "What is it?"

"What was in this frame?" Nick asked looking up at the tiger holding up the frame.

"T-There was a picture of the chief and his daughter, well ... adopted daughter," He answered before asking, "Why?"

"That's what was stolen!" Nick exclaimed standing up from the ground. "Ten animals were killed over a photograph of your chief's daughter, who is she?" He asked demanding an answer.

"Astrid, her name is Astrid villa, she's a snow leopard," He answered almost intimidated By Nick.

"Nick this doesn't make any sense," Olivia interrupted. She stood in front of him and asked herself as well as the Tiger and Nick, "If Davis came here for a photo of the chief's daughter why did he search through the precinct and kill nine other animals?"

"What else did he take?" Nick said with a sudden change in tone and his eye widening from anger to confusion and curiosity.

"Sir, I need all the names of the officers that were killed today, I need all their personal and work affects bagged and tagged and brought to precinct one, I need everything," Nick ordered.

"I'll get on that right away," He complied knowing he was not in charge at this point that he had to listen to the detective.

As the tiger left, Doctor Sharp came in, for he just finished with the last body besides the chief.

"Sharp, get this cleaned up and ready for movement to our station, something is going on here," He ordered. "Liv, I need you to send me all the photos you took and make sure everything gets back to precinct one okay," He commanded.

"What are you going to do?' She asked while pulling out her phone to do as he asked.

"Me ... I'm going to find our friend here's daughter if she comes here take her down to precinct one" He replied quickly as he walked towards the door. Right before he left he ordered one more thing, "And Liv, make sure they get this place running again, we can't have an entire precinct out of commission, not now."

She nodded before Nick rushed out of the station and back to his car. He needed to find this snow leopard her life, definitely in danger. He pulled his small computer attached to the middle of the dash. He pulled it close to him and typed in the name Astrid Villa, species snow leopard.

One result came up, he clicked on it, and it pulled up information and a photo ID. Usually, there wouldn't be as much information on someone who didn't have a criminal record. However, she had worked in a precinct, and her adoptive father was a chief of a precinct, so the information on who she was, was extensive.

Nick scrolled down and read the address, "Tundra Town, eighth street, apartment B, two-three-two."

He turned on his car and drove off. Meanwhile, Olivia did what he asked of her, and she had Officers from the precinct collect everything they had photographed, plus personal effects of the officers, even the civilians who were just collateral damage had their personal items bagged and shipped off of to precinct one. Then came to cleaning up the crime scene so the station would be operational after such a horrific attack. Nick alike most of the ZPD knew how bad it was getting, how they were losing more officers, and crime was skyrocketing to unbelievable rates, if Davis weren't stopped soon there would be no coming back from what he's done.

* * *

Nick pulled up to the Apartment building; he parked his car out front turning it off, getting out, then locking it. He walked up to the main entrance escaping the cold air and snow. Hoping she would home, Nick walked up the stairs to the second floor of the building going straight to her apartment number as said in her police file.

Nick knocked on the door and exclaimed with an order, "Miss. Villa, this is Detective Wilde!" There being no answer, Nick propped his pistol with one paw, leaning into the door saying, "Astrid Villa, it's the ZPD open up!"

Nick quickly remembered the last time he went to an apartment Davis was involved with; he moved to the side out of the door's path if it were to explode like the last time killing him.

Right before Nick went to kick open the door and quickly move to the side it opened. Standing the door frame was the snow leopard he was hoping to find.

Nick let go of his gun and said, "Villa, Astrid Villa?"

"That would be me, Detective why are you here?" The tired eyed cat asked still in her nightgown, it clear she didn't work Fridays.

"Uh, Miss Villa, I think it's best if were talk inside," Nick offered looking at the leopard who was confused and still slightly out of it, for she just woke up.

"What's happened?" She asked with a concerning tone; Nick didn't answer she asks again more frantically, "Whats happened?"

Nick looked down then back up befoe saying with the deepest of sympathy, "Miss. Villa, Your father, was shot this morning in a brutal attack on Precinct seven, I ... I regret to inform you that ... that he was killed instantly, I'm sorry."

Not saying anything, she looked up and closed her eyes tears dripping from them. She looked back down and asked holding back all her pain, "Is there anything more?"

"Yes," He answered.

She moved to the side and let Nick walk into her apartment. She closed her door and said, "The living room is to the left if you could wait there for me while I get some clothes on?"

"Uh, yes of course," He complied turning to the left to take a seat on the rocking slightly large rocking chair beside the big couch.

He patiently waited while the leopard got dressed. When the cat came out, Nick fixed his slouch and waited for her to sit down.

"Miss. Villa, the animal who did this, stole an unknown number of items from the ZPD, one being a photo of you," Nick spoke out.

Astrid's eyes widened, and she asked, "What?"

Nick paused clearing his throat before asking, "Miss. Villa, do you know Darcy Davis? The animal responsible for last year's attack on the city?" She was silent not answering, and Nick said, "Miss. Villa?"

"N-No!" She shouted, "I-I mean no I don't know him, I only know what everyone else knows, that he's a terrorist."

"Is there any reason you can think of as to why he would take a photo of you?" He asked.

"I-I don't know why, I-I'm sorry Detective, but I can't help you," She answered avoiding eye contact with him.

Nick looked down at his dangling feet before looking back up and saying, "I'm sorry to hear that." Nick jumped from the chair, he pulled out his wallet, inside there was a card with his number on it, and he said while passing it to her, "Well Miss. Villa, if he tries to contact you, please call this number."

She bent down and took it from his paw and replied, "I will thank you."

The silence built and Nick broke it as he began to walk away, "Miss. Villa I am truly sorry for what has happened if there is anything else you need you can also call that number." She nodded, and Nick added, "Okay, I have to be going now."

"Thank you," She answered standing up from her couch.

Nick made his way to the door he reached for the handle above him and opened the door walking out.

"She's lying," He said to himself, knowing from the way she acted around him when he spoke about Davis.

As he was walking Nick pulled out his phone and called Olivia to check in on her progress.

The phone rang twice then he heard Olivia say, "Nick, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I talked to Miss. Villa, she told me she's never met or even knows Davis, but she's lying," Nick replied while he entered the stairwell.

"What are you gonna do about it, you have no proof?" She asked.

"I don't have to do anything, she's going to find him for me," He answered, "He just killed her father, she won't be able to help herself but call him or run after him." Nick left through the front entrance and got into his car then questioned, "Did you get everything I asked for?"

"Y-yes, the station is getting cleaned up right now," She answered.

"Good, I want you to get back to the precinct and start going through everything you had brought there, call me the moment you know what's been taken," Nick ordered as he turned on his vehicle.

"I'll get right on it," She replied before hanging up the phone.

Nick put his phone away and drove off; he wasn't going far, just down the street. He was going to wait until the leopard left so he could follow her.

* * *

Olivia did what Nick asked, she got precinct seven up and running ad best it could with such a lack of officers and detectives, not to mention the trauma it caused t everyone who worked there, but in the city itself, if it weren't already on the news it soon would be.

She got back to precinct one and began to go through one of the many boxes filled with evidence. She needed to go through everything, Olivia had to go off of eyewitness accounts and video footage of the areas where animals were killed to try and find what was taken if anything was taken at all besides the photograph.

What still confused her the most was the stealing of the photo. If it were to be the only item Davis stole, why would he ransack the while precinct just to take one photo of which he would know the location of?

"What if Nick was wrong, what if this leopard really didn't know Davis, and he just took the photo to confuse him?" She asked herself. "What if, we are completely wrong, and what Davis was looking for wasn't even something anyone at the precinct owned, but something he left there before first killing his partner a year ago?"

Nothing made sense, then again it never made sense. Why Davis is doing all this, why he wants Nick to suffer by taking everyone and everything he loves away from him, why anything he's done or doing is beneficial to him?

Olivia pushed all those thoughts out of her head and focused on finding out what Davis took from the precinct. She continued to look through boxes upon boxes of items and video footage coming up with nothing.

Olivia stood up and went to kick her desk but stopped herself and just said, "This is impossible!"

A few detectives looked at her then went back to their own business. She looked around then sat back down her paws covering her face as she dropped her head back her seat leaning backward.

"What am I even looking for?" She asked herself, "What does Nick want me to find?"

She sat up and looked at the paused video of Davis pointing a gun at a tiger ready to pulled the trigger and ended his life. Olivia hated that she had to watch it, that she had to see so many animals die, knowing Davis didn't do anything about video cameras at the precinct so she or Nick would have to watch him slaughter so many.

She unpaused the video and closed her eyes as Davis put two bullets into the officer killing him. She had the audio off, but after a w seconds peaked at the screen to see if it was over. It wasn't that she hadn't seen animals die before, she had killed before, but knowing how senseless their deaths were and knowing it was Davis made it all the worse and watching was horrific.

She dropped her paws from her face and continued to watch the video footage changing cameras as he moved through the precinct. She watched him search through stuff seeing him take nothing, Davis stopped for a moment before looking at the camera, smiling, then it cut out the screen black. The cameras had stopped and didn't record the last moments of him inside the precinct.

"That must have been where he found what he was looking for," Olivia thought to herself while trying to find footage from a camera that didn't cut off.

Five minutes went by, then the cameras came back on Davis put two bullets into the chief of precinct seven, he took the picture frame and broke it removing the photo. Then Davis walked out of the office, something inside his suit, and a picture in his paw. Davis walked out the front entrance, got back into his car and drove off. Olivia typed in the license plate number on the ZPD website, and she got a file for a stolen vehicle. Just another in a long line of cars and trucks that were taken and thrown away by Davis. Tracking him was impossible when he never kept the same car for longer than a few days at most.

* * *

Nick was watching the leopard closely when she got out of her apartment building and to her car. She drove off passing Nick in his vehicle, not noticing him there. Nick turned his car on and followed her.

For hours he followed her as she went about her day, going into the same stores as her making sure she couldn't see him, using his skills as a stealth animal to his advantage.

As she was in a mall, he followed, but quickly lost her.

He looked around not being able to find her until he heard behind him, "Hey!" Nick turned around and standing behind him was the leopard, she pushed him against the shelf and demanded, "Why are you following me?" Nick didn't answer nd she added, "Don't you realize I worked for the ZPD for more than two decades, I know how to spot someone tailing me, now tell me why are you following me?"

"Because you're lying to me," Nick grounded out.

"What?" She questioned letting go of him.

Nick rubbed his chest as he said, "You do know who Davis is, and you're lying to me." He asked looking up at her, "Who was he to you?" A friend, a partner? ... A lover?" Not getting an answer Nick blurted out, "In case you couldn't tell I work for the ZPD, and I'm a fox, I know when I'm being lied to, who was he to you?"

"I told you I don't know him," She stated.

"Look if you're in trouble I can help you, but you need to tell me the truth," Nick pleaded.

"Look even if I as in trouble, I wouldn't need your help, I can protect myself," She snapped at him, showing she was nervous.

"I can always arrest you; you know that?" Nick interjected.

"On what charges?" She yelled out.

"I don't have to have a crime to charge you with, I can put you in holding for forty-eight hours before I have to charge you with something," He answered abruptly. "so just tell me the truth."

The leopard extended her paws out to him her wrists touching, "Then arrest me because I'm telling the truth."

Inside Nick's suit jacket was a pair of cuffs designed for a variety of animals slightly smaller than him to a few animals bigger than him. He pulled them out and cuffed the leopard, and he walked her out of the mall. Nick took her to his car and put her in the back seat, he got in and drove off.

As they were driving Nick began to talk, "You know what I don't understand?"

"What's that?" She replied avoiding eye contact.

"You, I just told you six hour ago that your father was killed, and you don't even shed a tear, or sound just a little sad about it. Why?" He answered looking at her turquoise eyes through the mirror as she tried to avoid looking into his green eyes. Nick chuckled and said, "You see they the thing is, you were ready to burst into tears sulking when I told you, your father was murdered, but once I mentioned it was Davis, you became stone cold."

"That proves nothing ?' She snapped with anger in her eyes.

"Oh, but it does," He smirked, "It's clear to me you know who this is and you're hell bent on finding him for what he's done, you won't mourn until Davis is dead and you have your revenge."

"You're just trying to get inside my head," She replied angered, "It won't work Fox I know all the tricks!"

Nick's smirked subsided, and he agreed, "You're right, I can't get inside your head, you do know all the tricks." His grin came back while he spoke, "I don't need to get into your head."

"Then how are you going to get the truth out of me?" She asked looking into his eyes.

"Got ya'!" He exclaimed

"Wait no that doesn't mean anything! I didn't give you anything with that!" She yelled.

"But you just did, twice," Nick replied with a chuckle, "You know lying to an officer is obstruction of justice ... oh and I can charge toy with that."

They pulled up to the ZPD and Nick parked in front of the station and turned off his car. He got out and opened the door to the back seat, he opened the door and made Astrid get out he walked behind holding onto her wrists while they walked into the precinct. Nick walked past reception and went up the stairs to the second floor, he walked the snow leopard into the detective department and saw Olivia going over evidence.

"Liv, help me out wth this," Nick demanded.

Olivia stood up and replied, "Is this Miss Villa?"

"Yes," He answered.

Olivia ran up to the two and followed along with them. Nick put Astrid into an interrogation room, he removed her cuffs and left with the door locked. He went into the room beside it where Olivia stood looking through the one-way glass.

"What did she do?" Olivia asked as she glanced at Nick then back at the leopard.

"She lied to me," Nick chuckled.

"So you arrested her?" Olivia asked.

"Well I arrested her then I got proof she lied to me," Nick added with a grin.

"Wait ... t-this is confusing," Olivia blurted out, "So you told her about her father, she lies to you, then you follow her, arrest her then you get proof shes lying?"

"Uh ... yeah, that's it," Nick said with a straight face, "Look I didn't do anything outside the law, if anything I'm protecting her from Davis, and herself."

"Nick, I found something else too," Olivia spoke out.

"What'd you get?" He asked.

"I watched the footage from the attack, and only one part is missing, five minutes before it comes back on where Davis kills the chief and takes the photo of her," She answer pointing to Astrid. "Whatever he took happened in those five minutes, wherever he was in the station at that time is where we need to look," She said while she and Nick looked through the one-way glass.

"Alright, but first we need to find out what she's keeping from us about Davis," Nick replied sternly, "whatever she knows about Davis we need to know."

"I'll go in," Olivia offered.

"Yes, you will," Nick agreed.

The shocked wolf looked at Nick and asked, "Wait, you're ... you're letting me go in?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?' Nick questioned looking at her shocked eyes.

"Y-You always do the interrogations; I'm always on this side," She replied.

"Not today, you're going to do this and get what we need," Nick ordered.

"I won't let you down," She said with a smile.

Nick and Olivia were both detectives, yes, but Nickoutranked Olvia and could order her around. He was a second-grade detective where Olivia was still a first-grade detective. In the year that they had been detectives, Nick saved hundreds of lives from a crime rate never seen before in Zootopia and solved hundreds of cases. Some of which were just sitting waiting to be solved because of detectives and officers unable to get to them. Normally he would have been promoted by the chief of precinct one, but since there wasn't the chief from precinct eleven diced to promote him when she saw him save two officers from a car bomb set in their patrol car.

Olivia opened the door and closed it behind her, she took a breath then walked over to the door to the other room, she reached up and opened the door. She walked in and closed it behind her, Olivia climbed and sat down on the chair fitted for Nick's height which was practically hers.

Olivia immediately asked, "Hello Miss. Villa I'm Detective Olivia O'Neil, what can you tell me about Darcy Davis?"

"I've already told your friend behind the glass that I don't know him, only what the public knows," She answered angered that she was there.

"You see, I want to believe you," Olivia said as she leaned forward, "But, I don't." she leaned back and crossed her arms while saying, "Miss. Villa, if you tell me that cadet fox that was all over the news a few days ago after Davis killed him will have justice, and his parents will be able to move on knowing the killer is behind bars."

Astrid leaned forward and answered, "I'm truly sorry, I'm sure if anyone in this city knew anything about Davis, they would want to tell you, they like me want to see that poor fox have justice."

Olivia wanted to paint a grin across her face, but didn't while she said, "I'm sure they would want to see Davis behind bars for killing that Fox, but they would need to know Davis killed him first." Olivia leaned closer and ordered, "Now that we are all aware you're bullshitting us, tell me what you know about Davis."

* * *

 **Hello there, sorry about that long wait with this chapter. As many if you know I am not the greatest at spelling or punctuation, so I use a program that helps me with that called Grammarly. Well I saved my document on there without saving a copy to my Icloud, and there was a problem with the program, and I lost the whole chapter. I had to rewrite it from scratch, I know I should have put an author's note, but I forget to because I was so busy trying to write this chapter for the second time, but never the less it's here now, and I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **If you did like it maybe consider following the story if you haven't already so you get an email letting you know theres a new chapter or a note from me. Also, consider leaving a review for the chapter telling me what you think of it or if there any big mistakes I completely just looked over.**

 **Until next time**


	20. One Can't Be Without the Other

Chapter Twenty: One Can't Be Without the Other

Traces of our past will always remain, even when we do our best to erase them.

* * *

"It was twenty-six years ago," Astrid answered her anger subsiding as she leaned back into her chair looking down to the ground.

"What was?" Olivia asked.

Astrid continued, "I met him when I was twenty-three years old, he ..." She smiled and said, "He came into precinct four more nervous than anyone I had ever seen, he was kind, gentle, respectful, an animal you'd never think to meet working a reception desk in the ZPD." She chuckled, "I fell in love with him the moment she stared into my eyes, and all I could see was a wonder, and well, it was evident he thought I was beautiful ..." Astrid looked up at Olivia and said, "He was the greatest animal I had ever met, and he didn't even know it."

"What happened to him?" Olivia interjected.

"I practically forced him to ask me out, he came to my apartment, and we made love on my kitchen floor," She replied with a grin. He tone changed, and her smile faded, "We were together for six years before ... he changed."

"What do you mean he changed?" she asked.

"There was this case, this fox was killed in a hit and run, he tried to find the killer, but couldn't, then the wife of this fox took her own life. He was never the same; he became distant, he couldn't look me in the eyes and say 'I love you.'" She wiped her eyes as she continued, "The Panther I fell in love with who was everything to me, was gone, he was someone else. I wanted to work things out, but he left me in the middle of the night, I woke up, and there was this note it said 'I'm sorry, but I can't look at you and continue to keep these terrible secrets, I love you, Astrid.'" She cried out, "He chose to keep secrets rather than tell me what had happened, I hate him! I hate what he did, why he left me! I don't even know what those secrets are, I did all I could to find out, but couldn't find anything!"

Nick, on the other side of the glass, was doing all he could to hold back his tears as he thought of his parents and how much he missed them.

Then he heard Olivia say to Astrid, "Davis, told us about the case with the foxes."

"H-He did?" She questioned.

"They were Nick's parents, and he couldn't find who killed them because ... he did," She added trying to keep herself calm as she spoke.

"W-What do you mean, h-he killed them?" She sobbed.

"I'm sorry," She answered.

"He was the hit and run, he killed Fox," She said to herself trying to process what that meant, what it meant to her.

Olivia spoke no longer in a demanding tone, "Listen, Astrid, he killed Wilde's father in front of him as a little kid; then he killed his mother to make it look like a suicide. Whatever Davis was is dead along with everyone he's killed, he is evil, and needs to be stopped."

"I don't know where he is," She answered.

Olivia dropped from the chair and walked out of the room; she went back to the room beside her and Nick said to her, "She was involved with him, that's more than I expected."

"I have to agree with you there, but how does this help us?" She asked shutting the door behind her.

Nick sighed and replied, "Sadly it doesn't, but we need to keep her safe if she wants revenge for what Davis did, Miss. Villa is going to get herself killed."

Olivia suggested, "Then we should have an officer keep watch while we try and find out what Davis was looking for and found from precinct seven."

"Agreed," Nick replied, "Show me the footage."

Olivia and Nick walked out of the small room and into the hall. Nik told an officer to stand by the door at all times until he could return then they went to Olivia's desk to see the footage.

Olivia pulled up the file and hit play; it showed Davis taking someone's life, then looking up at the camera, it went dark. Olivia fast forwarded the tape to where they come back on, and she switched it to the camera in the chief's office where Davis killed the chief then stole the photo.

"So whatever he took was inside that desk?" Nick questioned despite it being evident,

"Yes, but why?" Olivia asked.

Nick leaned in and ordered, "Go back to before it cuts out."

"Okay," She complied rewinding the video.

she came to the point right before the cameras cut off and paused it.

"What is it?" She asked.

Nick pointed to the screen while he spoke, "Those desks, I know it sounds crazy, but, I'm positive those are the same desks that Davis and his partner that he killed last yer used."

"How can we be sure?" She wondered while looked up at Nick who was still standing leaning over.

"Can we get the footage from when I was there last year?" Nick asked still staring at the screen.

"Do we even keep footage that far back?"

"It's regulation to file everything that happens in a precinct to remove that element of uncertainty from a case involving officers," Nick answered.

Olivia stood up and said, "We need to go back to the precinct and get that footage."

Nick looked to Olivia in agreement, and they did just that. The two left the ZPD and got into their cars, they met up at station seven and went inside to see the assistant chief.

Nick opened the door, and Olivia followed, down the hall to the detective department stood the tiger they needed to speak with.

"Hey, chief!" Nick shouted while walking towards him.

The tiger said to the officer he was speaking with, "Hold on a sec." He turned around and replied, What now detective?"

Nick stopped in front of the tiger and asked, "How far back does your security footage go?"

"It should go back as far to when we digitalized the whole system back in the late nineties," He answered, "Why?"

"I need to see the footage from a year ago," Nick demanded.

"Uh ...," He replied, "Y-Yea' sure I'll uh help you with that, it's just going to get some time getting used to being the chief, I need to get the clearance code to give you access to the security footage from that far back."

Nick understood where he was coming from his boss, most likely his friend was killed, and now he's in charge, reminded him of someone he used to know.

"Thank you," Olivia said with a kind tone showing that she too was understanding of what had happened.

The tiger smiled subtly before saying, "Just give me a minute I need to finish up with my officer, I'll meet you at my desk, it's in the detective department down the hall, it will say Margaret on it."

"Thank you, sir," Olivia said while she began to follow Nick.

Nick walked passed the giant tiger and through the hall that opened up to a big room filled with around two dozens of desks all put in perfect rows two desks together facing each other before another two did the same further ahead, for the detectives who worked there. It was far different from precinct one, where there was an organization, but it wasn't the same as most precincts, it was still the way Bogo had left it before he died. They were placed offset to one another, some side-by-side, others front to front, and even somewhere left apart, each pair of detectives worked differently, so they had a different set up to suit them.

Nick walked down an aisle between them and found the office in the corner of the room. Nick and Olivia hopped onto the chief that was too big for them, and they waited for Margaret to return.

Once he did the tiger walked up through the rows of desks some empty but cleaned off the mess from eight hours prior and others with detectives doing their paperwork or looking for evidence to a case they have all trying to get their minds off of what happened to their friends.

Margaret sat down, and he questioned, "How far was it you said you wanted to go back?"

Nick stood up in the large chair so he could see "Just a year when I was here last trying to find Davis, but all I got was his partner."

Margaret logged into the ZPD security files, he opened up the files from twenty-nineteen and searched for the month of August.

"Do you remember what day it was?" The tiger asked politely while he searched the month's security footage.

"Uh ... the twenty-sixth," He thought.

Margaret clicked on the date and turned around the computer screen; the footage began playing from the beginning of the day. Nick hit the forward button and went all the way to the point where he came into the precinct to find Davis.

Nick went up to Davis' partner; they talked then left. Nick again fast forwarded the footage until the Police at the precinct were called to the explosion that occurred at Davis' apartment, that killed his partner that day, hurting Nick badly.

Nick paused the video and spoke, "That was the day, I found out Davis was behind everything, later that night he killed his ex-wife and cut her paws off to send me a message."

"Why did you need to see this?" The tiger asked, still confused why Nick had requested to see more footage.

"The desk that was Davis' when he worked here is the same desk Davis searched through when he had the cameras cut off for about five minutes, which I'm still trying to figure out how he did it," He answered.

"Everything in that desk was put into evidence when he was first wanted for the murder of an officer, there wasn't anything in there of his," The tiger replied.

Nick smirked and replied, "Don't be so sure, Davis is resourceful, if he didn't want something to be found then it won't be found." Nick jumped from the chair and said, "There was something hidden in there."

Nick walked over to the desk that belonged to Davis, and he opened up the drawers that he could almost fit inside of. He looked around feeling the above them to see if there was a compartment only Davis knew about when he heard a "click," and the wood above the drawer fell out it being a box three inches deep.

Nick pulled it out is being small enough to fit in his arms, he looked at it, it being empty he climbed out of the large drawer and dropped the box on the top of the desk before climbing down to the chair.

"There was something in there, and the question still remains what was it?" Nick asked knowing it couldn't be answered so simply.

Olivia reached up from the box, she grabbed it and looked at it before saying, "Well whatever it was it couldn't have been big."

"Thank you, Sir, that was all we needed," Nick said as he began to walk away.

Olivia looked behind and then caught up to Nick with the box still in her paws.

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

"I don't understand this," He replied, "None of what has happened here makes sense to me, Davis doesn't just go in guns blazing and kills animals. He's precise, everything is carefully planned out down to the T, he doesn't make a mistake, and he doesn't leave evidence like this."

"But this was him; we know it is," She questioned.

Nick looked at her and said, "Yes, but something is different about this, Davis has said on multiple occasions that he doesn't like to kill, but who he's killed is necessary. These ... they don't make sense, his morals don't fit this, everyone he's killed up to this point has been to affect me."

"Are you saying his motives have changed?" Olivia asked as the two walked through the hall to the main lobby.

Nick stopped and said with utter certainty, "I'm saying this wasn't an attack planned out to get to us, but for something of his benefit, what he came back here for wasn't a weapon or a device he could use against us, it was personal." Nick almost grinned as he spoke, "We could use that against him."

They started to walk again reaching the front entrance, Olivia pushed through the door while she asked, "How can you be so sure animals mess up all the time, Davis isn't an exception to that rule."

"You're right, he does make mistakes, but not like this, this is because of something close to him," Nick restated.

"If that's true, then how do we take this and use it against him?'" She asked.

Nick reached his car as he answered, "I don't know yet, but for now, go back to the precinct and get Miss. Villa somewhere better than an interrogation room and have officers posted near her at all times." Nick opened the car door and added, "I'm going to look into this theory of mine."

Olivia agreed and walked away from Nick going to her car that was in front of his, she got in and pulled away. Nick, however, sat in his seat with the car off.

He thought of what Davis could be doing, why he came back to this precinct for something he probably could have replaced. Why did he come early in the morning instead of at night when it would have been easier? Nick thoughts lead from one to another. Maybe it wasn't something he could replace, but something from his past? It would make sense, he stole a photo of the animal he loved decades ago, what if it was something from his family? That lead him to the question he asked himself a year ago when he first met Davis, who was his family, and what happened to them?

Nick pulled his small laptop that was connected to his middle console and typed in the file search, "Darcy Davis." Nothing came up.

"Just like the last time," Nick grumbled to himself before turning the computer off.

He sighed and leaned back, for a few minutes Nick's mind went blank, he was on the verge of giving up but knew that Davis would just keep killing and keep tearing families apart to destroy Nick and make him something, something he needed.

Nick opened his eyes and looked up through the window of his car; he admired the skyscrapers in the distance. The city filled with millions upon millions of animals going about their days knowing almost nothing, but there were the others. The ones left with their loved ones dead from when Davis set off two bombs, Nick wasn't fighting to stop Davis just for him anymore, it was for everyone who suffered because of him, for everyone that will suffer because of him.

Nick grabbed his phone and clicked on a contact it began to call, and he waited for an answer.

The phone stopped ringing, and Nick heard, "Hello sweetie?"

Nick smiled as he said, "Hey Carrots, how's your day going?"

"Good, I just wish you were here, I-I miss you," Judy replied it being clear through her voice she was trying to hide her sadness that was building up.

Nick's thoughts quickly wondered as he tried to think of what to do so he said, "I'm ... I'm actually coming home right now!"

"Y-You are?" She shouted.

"Y-Yeah, I want to see you, I want to so I'm going to," He replied with a chuckle and a smile painted onto his muzzle.

"I love you," She joyfully exclaimed.

Nick's smile widened as he said, "I love you too, Carrots, I'll see you in ten or so minutes." Nick hung up the phone and said to himself, "I won't let you fear this world anymore."

Nick knew he needed to work, but something was missing, he couldn't do it alone, not that he was alone, he had Olivia helping with finding and stopping Davis, but they had gotten nowhere. Judy was who he needed; she needed it her dreams were taking and crushed because of him and killing the fear she had growing bigger and bigger inside of her needed to die.

He turned his car on and pulled out of the parking lot and into the road. Nick drove until he reached his home, all that was on his mind was her, his wife, his everything.

Nick pulled into the parking lot he turned off his car and got out locking it behind him, he rushed to the sixth floor and right to his apartment.

He opened the door and smiled as he shouted, "Carrots, I'm-"

Judy flung herself into Nick's arms his a smile on her face her ears parked happily to see Nick so early in the day.

"Oh I missed you, I hate being stuck in here," She spoke into his chest.

Nick smiled, but as he spoke it disappeared, "Well, I-I have Olivia dealing with some stuff, a-and I well ... I'm stuck. I can't figure this out anymore."

"What happened Nick?" Judy asked pulling her face away from Nick's warm chest.

Nick looked down at Judy, and he spoke, "It's not that something happened, Carrots, I just can't do this, I'm alone most of the time ..." Nick bent down and looked Judy in the eyes, "I need you, but I won't ask that of you, I won't force you to come back to this job."

"Nick, I'm sorry ... I-I wish I could help," She almost whimpered out.

Nick pulled Judy into a hug and softly spoke into her ears, "That does not matter, not right now." He pulled away and added, "What's important is helping you."

"I-I don't know if I can do it," She cooed.

Nick looked Judy in her purple eyes as he said with certainty, "Listen to me, You are brave You've saved countless lives, and it never scared you, Judy ... If you believe you can't accomplish something, then it truly is impossible." Nick pulled her back to her and whispered, "You can accomplish this I believe in you, you need to believe in yourself."

Judy didn't speak she just let Nick hold her. She knew he was right; she needed to believe she could overcome what controlled her.

"Okay," She spoke, "I-I know you're right, I ... I just-"

Nick again pulled away from her, and he said, "Just say the word, and I'll take you to where you wanted to go."

"Please," She begged, knowing that she couldn't do it herself, not yet, she needed him to save her.

Nick stood up and turned around he placed his paw on Judy's shoulder and said, "Trust me."

"I do," She spoke.

Nick knew what he needed to do; he needed to save Judy as she had done for him years ago.

They walked out the door and to the lift, Nick clicked the down arrow and waited for the elevator to come to their level. Once it did, they got on and rode it down to the first floor where Nick and Judy once again stopped at the front entrance. This time there being an animal or two in the lobby and dozens outside walking down the street while cars sped by and the sun tried to shine through the clouds

Nick looked down at his wife with a smile, and he said, "Davis can't hurt you, not while I live no one else can either."

"I-I know, I can do this ... I can do this," she repeated.

Nick wouldn't say it, but deep down he feared she would fail again, but he pushed those thoughts away and focused on her and how she would overcome the fear.

Nick took a step forward and pushed the door open; the warm air hit them as Judy took her first step. Her heart pounding as the outside world was getting closer to her with every step they took.

She thought to herself, "You can do this ... Do it for him he believes in you."

Judy took her second step she took in a deep breathe as her foot stepped onto the sidewalk then her second foot.

She was outside, for the first time in a year Judy was outside.

Her heart still raced, but Nick rubbed her head and  
With a calming voice said, "it's okay Sweetheart we did it." He kissed her forehead and whispered, "You did it."

Judy held herself close to Nick her paw intertwined with his as they slowly walked to the entrance of the parking lot under the apartment. The whole two minutes they walked Judy's mind feared the worst as the noises of cars and animals talking flooded her thoughts, her ears were almost sensitive to the sound of the city in full, not faded by walls and the windows that she never opened. She calmed herself by pushing her ears into Nick's side to muffle the noise.

"Huh," she mumbled as they walked into the parking lot the city becoming quieter.

"What?" Nick questioned as they walked towards his challenger.

"I thought you went with the blue instead of the black," she replied with a smile as they walked up to his car.

Nick remembered she had never seen his car before, so he grinned and chuckled out, "Nah, I didn't want to seem to contactless. The whole point is to make it appear that it's not a cop car If you go with the color that everyone sees as 'police' then it's kind of redundant."

"I-I guess," She murmured as she pulled away from Nick and got into the passenger seat.

Nick climbed into his seat and closed the door beside him, he stuck the key into the ignition and turned it. The car quickly came to life and spooked Judy for a brief but long second, not used to the nose it being so long.

"You're doing great Carrots, we made it to the car," Nick said with a smile as he extended his paw to her.

She grabbed it and replied, "I-I don't know if I can handle t-the noise."

"I won't put the windows down, just the A.C.," He replied his eyes filled with joy she was pushing through the fear for once.

She closed her eyes and said, "The only thing to fear is fear itself."

Nick had heard the saying before, he heard it from Judy and read it online dozens of times, but at some point, Judy didn't believe it anymore. She told him that fearing fear was a waste of time, and he believed her, but one thing was different for Nick, he didn't fear, fear, but instead he feared himself, for what his mind did and was doing to him.

He looked to Judy and hid those facts as he lied, "That's right, so don't fear Davis he's not worth the time of day."

"Thanks," She smiled.

"let's go," He replied putting the car into drive as he pulled forward out of the parking space.

Nick drove up out of the underground parking lot, he pulled into the street and drove past the entrance to the apartment building he and Judy lived in. They drove through the very end of rush hour, so stopping or slowing to a near stop while on the busy roads only occurred a few times. But the detour they had to take because of the closed roads from when the first bomb went off a year ago, took nearly an hour.

As the sun was setting it hit the horizon, the sky became orange and red, and behind them dark blue and black. Nick drove outside of the city just far enough for it to be seen in all its glory with the bright colors creating shadows on one end and reflections on the other. The sky scrappers sound above all the other buildings, it was beautiful and stood for so much.

Nick turned off the car, he got out and opened his trunk grabbing two blankets from it.

"Come on Carrots," he said loud enough for her to hear from the inside the car.

Judy opened the door and got out; she saw Nick with the two blankets, she smiled at him and almost cried out, "Nick, I've missed this place so much."

"I know," He replied with a smile so wide it couldn't be a lie, but a truth they both knew and shared.

Judy shut the door to the car and followed behind Nick who walked into the bushes. After a few feet came to a clearing with soft grass off the edge of a cliff that fell down to the water that surrounded more than half the city. Every building every wall that separated the climates was visible the city, Zootopia.

Nick laid out the large blue blanket out across the soft rockless grass; then he sat down on it with the second one to his right. Judy dropped beside him and leaned her head against his left arm.

"This is where I became yours," Judy murmured, "Where I became your family."

"You were my family long before that," Nick replied looked at her with glistening eyes that had orange from the sun in them. "You saved me, Judy, now I will save you from this darkness that has a hold over that city," He pointed outward. Nick leaned closer to Judy, and he spoke, "Utopia? Dystopia? ... Zootopia is not one or the other, but both, I know that because of you, you know that because of me." He kissed her before saying, "Neither can be without the other, but one is losing a battle, and when the kindness of our city we fought so hard to protect dies. There will be no saving it, and my duty won't be preventing evil, but being the one who has to clean it up."

"What has happened to us?" She asked. Judy looked up at Nick and whimpered, "I let my self-hatred destroy what I was, then my fear controlled what little of me was left, you being the only thing keeping any of me here. I broke, and you had the burden of trying to keep me from breaking any more."

"It's not a burden," He said his paws placed on her shoulders turning her towards him. "It never was, I didn't do it because you saved me, not because I felt like I owed you, no ... I did it because I love you."

Judy kissed Nick on the lips, she broke it after a few seconds, and she replied, "I'm sorry, sorry I've let these things control me, not anymore, will you help me?"

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" He asked. "Of course I will," He added pulled her into a hug. "You've made such progress today, I know you can make more," He whispered into her ear.

"Judy pulled away from Nick, and she said, "I want to come back."

"Back to what, he questioned.

Judy stood up and answered while looking out at the city that was becoming darker as the sun set, "Back to the ZPD, I want to come back to work with you. I want to stop Davis; I want to end the killing, I want to save lives again, I-I won't sit cooped up in our apartment anymore."

Nick stood up and walked close behind her while he said, "I was hoping ... hoping one day you'd come back." He placed his paw on her shoulder and said, "You were going to be promoted to detective before you left, there's still a spot left for you, it will be a first-grade spot, right under me ... Liv and I need your help." Judy turned around and looked Nick in the eyes, then Nick finished, "With you ... we can stop him."

Judy replied, "I-It won't be right now, I-I don't think I can handle going back to work, I-I still need some more time, but I will, Nick." She pulled Nick into a hug and said again, "I will come back to the ZPD, I will be a cop again."

"I know ... I know," He whispered looked out to the city, lights coming on illuminating the buildings and streets.

The sun fell below the horizon, and the moon, stars, and city lights took the job of the sun.

Nick and Judy laid on the blanket they touched one another, felt the warmth of each other's fur as they connected intimately. Their clothes off to the side along with their undergarments, the only thing besides the other's body to keep them warm, the second blanket Nick had brought with them. They shared their love, before laying close to each other under the night sky.

Nick focused his eyes on Judy who was tired, not just from the day or what they did together minutes before. Judy was tired from all the fear and anger within her, tired by her own self-hatred for what happened to her boss over a year ago, how she still blamed herself but knew it wasn't her fault. Judy was tired of Davis having control over her because of what he did to her. Making it outside, going to a place filled with such love from when Nick asked her to be his wife was the first step to finally getting rest for all that troubled her, and she could finally come back to her job.

Nick knew that he wasn't doing his job, not looking into his theories about what Davis was after when he shot up that precinct, but Judy was more important, right now he needed her to be okay, more than okay. Nick wanted Judy to feel safe once again, and if stopping everything for a few hours to make that even remotely possible was worth it.

"I love you," Judy whispered as she snuggled into his chest.

"I love you too," He murmured back before giving her a kiss on the to of her head.

They laid under the blanket holding each other for warmth for a while longer before the wind picked up. Nick and Judy grabbed their clothes and helped one another get back into them. They grabbed the blankets they were lying in and on, then walked back to Nick's car. Nick tossed the blankets int he trunk then unlocked the car letting Judy into the passenger seat, he walked around the Challenger and got into the driver seat, he turned on the car and turned the car around to take it back into the city.

* * *

The clock hit one AM Nick sat on the edge of his bed his paws covering his face, his scars from a fight months ago clearly visible in the moonlight. He no longer wore the bandages on his right from his last fight it being almost healed his fur managing to cover it up.

He cried, shivered, from the nightmare he woke up from, his thoughts raced over the events he could remember so vividly he could swear they were real, the only thing stopping him from thinking so being his wife that laid beside him.

Judy opened her eyes to the darkness of the room, she turned to her right and saw Nick in the moonlight sobbing on the edge of the bed.

"Nick," She spoke out as she pushed the blanket off of her.

"I-I ... I'm sorry Judy ...," He whimpered out.

Judy crawled over to him, and she sat up on her knees placing her paw on his back while she whispered, "Sorry for what? Helping me over some my fear?"

Nick continued to cry before he blurted out, "No! I-I keep telling you these things to help you when ..." Nick turned around and looked Judy in the eyes with his tear soaked ones, and he cried out, "When I can't do them myself, I don't fear, fear. I'm afraid of m-myself what m-my mind does to me, how can I-I help you when I haven't helped myself?"

Judy pulled Nick into a hug, and she softly spoke, "It's okay, honey, I'm here ..."

Nick hugged her back, and while he sniffled he said, "Y-You know, d-despite what's happened, y-you're still braver than I am."

Judy pulled away from Nick and replied, "Don't say that Nick, you are brave, you didn't give up your career out of self-hatred and fear, you kept going and pushed yourself harder than I ever could." She pulled him back into a hug and added, "You're better than me ..."

Silence ensued Nick or Judy not knowing what to say next. They just laid sat in their bed holding each other for hours until they fell to their backs, doing the same. Nick followed his usual routine and stayed up the rest of the night, questioning why he even slept in the first place, knowing that a nightmare would plague him.

His alarm went off, he stopped it then got up, got dressed in the same suit as the day before, and left giving his wife a kiss goodbye while she slept. He left the apartment then the building, got into his car and drove to work.

He went to his desk and waited for Olivia to say something.

"Get anywhere last night?" She asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

"With the case? No, My wife needed me, but there was nothing I could have done anyway, Davis is untraceable even when he's careless he's too smart for us." Nick answered grabbing his own coffee from his desk to take a sip of it.

Olivia put her coffee down then said, "I called you last night, but your phone went straight to voicemail, you and Judy weren't home, so I assumed something was going on."

"What did you find?" He asked while he pulled his phone out to see it had two missed calls.

"It's not what I found; it's what Miss Villa told me," She replied.

Nick sat up and asked, "What did she say?"

"It's best you here it from her yourself," She answered as she stood up.

"Speaking of which where did you take her?" Nick asked while he stood up eyes widened to the realization he was making in his mind.

"I took her to a safe house in Sahara Square, there's four guards there right now, they were the only officers to spare," She answers standing up herself while she grabbed her keys.

"Wait, why can't you tell me?" Nick asked suddenly.

"Becuase she only told me one thing, Davis had a family, nothing more, that was something she wanted to say to you and you alone," She answered.

"Well then let's go, lead the way," Nick ordered with a kindly tone.

Olivia walked towards the lift and Nick followed; they went down to the parking to get to their vehicles. Nick followed Olivia to the safe house it taking thirty minutes to get there with traffic.

It was a run down house that the ZPD owned for occasions such as this one, where they needed to protect someone and have it be hard to impossible for said animal to be found.

They parked a street away so it wouldn't see strange having to cars parked outside a building that is supposed to be abandoned.

As they were walking down the street, Nick asked Olivia, "Hows your brother doing?"

"What?" She responded for she was in a daze.

"Remember you told me one of your brothers was staying with you because his girlfriend broke up with him," Nick replied.

"Oh yeah Isaiah, he's okay," She answered not really sure how he was doing.

"Good," He mumbled.

"Oh, did I tell you he want to see you and Judy, he's kind of a big fan of what you two did four years ago," She blurted out as they came up to the safe house.

"Oh, well I'll definitely consider having you two over for dinner," Nick smirked.

"Uh ... why don't you and Judy come to my place, tonight maybe?" She offered not wanting to be in his home, it always being difficult for her.

"I'll talk to Judy about it later, come on," He replied as they walked up the cracked concrete steps.

Olivia opened the door and sitting on a chair was a Hippo reading a book.

The Hippo noticed them come in and he set his book down to say, "Detectives, uh is everything Okay?"

"Yes, Jake, everything is fine," Olivia replied. "Where is she?" She asked.

"In the back Adam, John, and Jamie are watching her," He answered.

"Thanks," Nick said as he and Olivia walked passed the large animal.

Nick and Olivia walked through the house that wasn't in a recent, it only being the outside that looked abandoned. They walked up to a door where two more officers stood. One of the officers opened the door letting Nick and Olivia walk into where a bedroom was, inside a wolf in his ZPD uniform stood leaning against the wall watching Astrid sleep.

"Jamie," Olivia said looking at him.

"Olivia," He replied. "Wilde," He added. "she's safe, you here to talk to her?" He asked whispering for the leopard was still asleep.

Nick cleared his throat as he got into his mean detective like personality.

"There's no need to whisper," Nick spoke out not caring I he woke her for he needed to talk to her anyway. "And yes I am here to speak with her." Immediately Astrid woke up to Nick shouting, and he said with a smirk, "Good she's up."

"What the hell are you all doing in here?" She yelled as she sat up.

"we are here for you; Detective O'Neil said you've got something to tell me," Nick answered firmly.

"You told me last night you had something to tell Detective Wilde what is it?" Olivia demanded.

"Oh, that," She replied, "Well can I go to the washroom first?"

"Ugh, take her" Nick agreed, ordering the officer to take Astrid to the restroom.

The snow leopard climbed out of bed and followed the wolf out of the bedroom and to the windowless restroom, and he waited outside the door for her to finish and come out.

Nick and Olivia sat in the living room waiting for her to finish, once she did the wolf took her to them.

Astrid dropped onto the sofa chair across from the couch, and she said, "Alright."

"What is it you need to tell me?" Nick questioned with a firm tone as he leaned forward.

"I-I didn't say anything b-because at the time I didn't think I needed to, but ...," She spoke out. "Davis had a family," She added, "I-I mean like a mother, father, and a sister."

"What happened to them?" Nick asked.

Astrid looked down as she said, "T-They died, his parent's passed away in a fire when he was eleven years old. He went on to live with his grandparent's on his father's side his mother's side already passed by then."

"What happened to his sister?" Nick asked hiding how shocked he was from everyone in the room.

Astrid cleared her throat and said with sadness, "Ellie was her name, on his sixteenth birthday he was hit over the head with a rock, he woke up to his sister ... his sister being raped and killed."

"Oh my God," Olivia blurted out. "W-What did he do?" She asked.

Astrid was reluctant to answer, but did so anyway with a tone filled with disgust and almost sympathy from Davis, "He killed the coyote that raped her. Beat his head into the pavement under him, he told me every gory detail, how he was so filled with rage and anger while he killed him."

"Why are you telling me this?" Nick asked.

She looked back at Nick and answered, "If Davis cared for anything it was his sister, he kept all his photos of her in a box at work safe from everyone, his memories of Ellie is the one thing he would do anything for." She leaned back and added, "Davis went back for that box, I'm sure of it, I wish I could've thought of it sooner, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you've done more than enough," Nick spoke out as he stood up. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to stay here until we apprehend Davis, these officers will keep watch to make sure you're safe and make sure you don't leave, understood," He added.

"Yes," she grumbled not wanting to be cooped up unable to go anywhere.

Olivia got up and followed Nick s he walked passed the hippo and out the front door.

"Nick," She shouted as she caught up with him.

"Every time I lose any remorse for him, it all comes back, he's so broken Liv, he does so many horrible things, but he's gone through it all," He answered as he focused ahead of him.

"None of that matters, it's no excuse for the things he's done," She added looking at him while they walked.

"Then what is Liv?" He yelled stopping in his tracks. "He's doing all of this for something, everyone he's killed had always been for a reason, he wants something out of me, and he won't even tell me what it is! Can you?" He yelled with anger in his eyes.

"N-No I can't," She replied stopping as well almost screaming back.

Realizing he lost his control on his emotions Nick cleared his throat, sighed and said, "Look Liv, I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled, it's just hard to keep it all together when you have someone outsmarting you every day."

They both began to walk down the street again, and while the walked Olivia said, "I-I get it, you know, having someone outsmart you at every turn. I'm not as good at this job as you are I get outsmarted just as much as you, But getting mad over this doesn't help, you said that yourself, it's what you taught me." She smiled and said, "It's the only way we will beat him is if we don't let him affect us like this."

Nick chuckled and remarked, "I taught you well didn't I?"

"You're a good teacher," She replied with a smile.

Nick smiled then with a sudden change in tone he said, "Okay, come on we need to find all the information on file for Davis and his family."

Nick walked ahead of Olivia, and she sped up to reach his side and then asked, "Wait but didn;t he erase everything on himself and his family from the records of the city and the ZPD?"

"Y-Yeah he did, but like Miss Villa said, His family and their deaths occurred before the transition to digital records," He replied. "So anything that was from those decades should still be at their respective precincts," He spoke out quickly while the walked around the corner to where their cars were parked.

"We should start with the fire incident the fire that killed his parents," Olivia suggested.

Nick walked up to his car, and he said, "Yeah, you go to precinct seven, again, and I'll go to precinct four where he met Villa twenty-six years ago. He opened his door and got into his seat and ordered, "If you don't find anything come back to precinct one and we will go through that one together okay."

"Got it," She answered.

Nick turned on his car and said, "Good luck."

He closed his door then pulled away leaving Olivia alone. She walked to her car which was parked behind Nick's before he left and she climbed in closing the door, turned the car on and drove off, heading back to the precinct four.

* * *

Olivia walked in through the front doors she went to the detective department of the station and asked the acting chief for access to their file room.

Ever since the turn of the century, everything was digitalized for the eighties and nineties, then everything after that would have both a physical copy and a digital one. However, anything from earlier was left on paper and was never organized, luckily she only needed files from the eighties and up.

Olivia looked through the cases reports of animals killed in house fires for the year of nineteen eighty-four but found nothing.

"Maybe he wasn't brought here, or he destroyed it," She said to herself.

Olivia looked for anything involving homicide and female animals being raped for the year of eighty-nine it being the time Davis was sixteen. She found dozens of cases too many for her liking, one case involved a panther, but none of them had the name Darcy, Ellie or Davis on them.

Having no luck, Olivia gave up on finding something in that precinct's files. The only problem being they had no idea what precinct sent out officers or detectives to investigate said crime. Finding it would be impossible without going through all the two-hundred precincts in the city.

She left the building and went to her car discouraged and angered, she pulled out her phone and called Nick.

Nick answered, and he said," Nothing right?"

"Wait how did you?" She asked but quickly realized he too found nothing.

"we are going about this the wrong way; we need to find a better way of searching through all these files," Nick suggested.

Olivia sighed, "Yeah we do because we can't go through every station in Zootopia, that would take months."

Nick agreed then said, "Well come back to precinct one, and we will start there, I know a lot of files got moved here a couple of years back because there was no room left for them in their respective stations, we have a good chance of finding something here."

"Alright I'll be there soon," she replied as she turned the Kay in the ignition.

Nick ended the call, so Olivia put her phone in her pocket before going into drive and pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street where she drove until she reached precinct one. She parked in her usual spot in the underground parking then went to the lift where she went to the second floor right into the detective department.

The door opened, and the noise of officers and detectives filled the room. At his desk, Nick searched through a box of reported fires from eighty-four.

"Find anything?" Olivia shouted over the noise while she walked up to Nick.

Nick looked up to see the red wolf walking up to him he sighed and replied, "Nothing yet, surprisingly a lot of fires happened in this city that year four hundred different cases."

Olivia sat down in her seat beside Nick's, and she said while leaned forward to see in the box, "Well it wasn't until eighty-four that Savanna Central and Sahara Square had the heaters drastically dropped in temperature to avoid the fires from breaking out so often."

Nick looked up from a file he had in his paws to say, "You don't have to remind me, my father lost his suit shop to a fire when I was nine."

Olivia pulled out a file, opened it and began to read through it.

Olivia looked up from her file and pointed out, "Nick did you know Chief Bogo was an officer at this precinct in the eighties?"

"No I did not know that," Nick replied looking at the page Olivia was showing him. Nick read the page then questioned, "wait why is he in this file is he wasn't a detective?" He turned the page and read, "Patrol Officer Thelonious Bogo transported two kit Panthers from the Meadowlands to the precinct after a house fire killed parents, detectives Higgins." He looked up and said with surprise, "Liv this is it! This is the file we are looking for." He leans over and showed her the page and added, "Look, two panthers, siblings Ellie and Darcy Davis."

"Villa said his grandparents took care of them after the fire. Who were they and what is their residents?" She asked.

"Savanna Central, Fickle Drive, house number three two seven," He read.

Olivia searched it up on the computer while he read it, and she said once she found the results, "It's still there, the registered owner hasn't changed fro decades, they are still there."

Nick jumped from his chair and shouted, "Come one let's go."

Olivia shut off her computer and quickly caught up with Nick who was already int he elevator. They took it down to parking, and they got into their vehicles driving to the residents as fast as they could.

Nick and Oliva pulled up to the house after forty minutes of driving, they exited their cars and walked up the path to the steps up the porch and to the door where Nick knocked and awaited an answer.

The door opened and looking down at them was a tiger.

"May I help you?" He asked.

Nick smiled, and while he and Olivia pulled out their badges, he said, "Hello this is Detective O'Neil, and I'm Detective Wilde, we were hoping to speak with Hayward Davis.

The tiger's eyes widened before he sighed and answered, "Uh, I'm sorry to tell you two this but ... Hayward Died fifteen years ago."

"Then why is the house still under his name"? Olivia questioned with authority.

"Becuase when he died it was paid for, his wife, Willow kept the place," He replied while he blocked the entrance.

"What happened to her?" Nick blurted out.

"Well, she's here, I care for her now?" He said leaning against the doorframe.

"May we speak with her?" Olivia asked.

"Well, why is it you need to speak to her?" He replied.

"It's just a few questions about her grandson, he's been in some trouble, and we just need to know if she knows anything," Nick cut in answering him.

he smiled and said, "Sure, but-"

"But what?" Nick interjected.

"She's got Alzheimer's, and it's caused early onset Dementia, she's in and out of it, it's only been getting worse, I don't know what she remembers," He answered lacking optimism.

The tiger moved out of the way and let the two detectives walked passed him.

He walked them to the living room, and when he walked in, he said to the frail Panther sitting in her chair, "Willow, I have a few officers that wish to speak with you." He smiled and said with a cheery tone, "Willy, it's about your grandson."

"I don't have a grandson!" She shouted.

Nick looked at Olivia, and she could see it in his eyes. He was furious.

* * *

Hello there, I know two weeks is a little long but hey life gets in the way, and my life is hectic.

Well I hope you liked the chapter, sort of tackle two birds with one stone in this one, I'm trying to do so with the next chapter as well. We are indeed reaching the end of this story, I have five chapter left, possibly six if I have to, but yes this story is almost over and you will soon find out what Davis wants with Nick why he does all the things he does.

If you liked the chapter please review it's appreciated greatly, and if you haven't already, follow the story so you get an Email letting you know a new chapter is up.

Until next time ...


	21. Lasting Damage

Chapter Twenty-One: Lasting Damage

Moral beliefs are what control many of our actions when one's morality is broken, the things they desire can be confusing, and more often broken. Hoping that what they long for will bring them the peace they are searching for.

* * *

"Who are you?" The old panther asked.

"Miss Willow I'm detective O'Nail. My partner and I are here to ask you some questions," The red-furred wolf answered with a calm tone as to not frighten the sick animal.

"Oh you must be Darcy's friends, I'm sorry he's not here right now," She said suddenly changing her tone not remembering they were cops.

"Can you tell us where he is?" Nick asked.

"With Ellie of course, he visits here once a day to give her a flower," She said with a smile before it faded and she blanked out before it came back with her saying, "How may I help you?"

Nick walked up to the Panther and went to say, "Miss Davis-"

"It's Mrs. Davis, I have a husband," She cut in.

"Mrs. Davis, can you tell me where your grandson is?" Nick asked hiding his frustration with her lapses in memory.

"With Freddrick of course," She replied, "He's only three."

"Willy, can you look at me," The tiger cut in. The smiling Panther did so, and he added, "It's me, Willow, your caretaker, Danny."

"Oh Danny, when did you come back?" She asked with surprise.

"I never left Willy," He answered, "But can you tell these nice officers where Darcy is?"

The panther had looked at the time before she looked at Nick and Olivia saying, "It's too late, he goes to see Ellie at noon every day to give her a flower."

"Where is Ellie?" Olivia interjected.

"T-The ...," She said pausing suddenly her focus fading and her ears falling back.

"Willy?" The tiger spoke.

Willow began to cry, and she blurted out her paws covering her face, "O-Officers, h-he was just trying to protect her!" She went on to say, but before getting anything else out, she again blanked out.

"I told you two this is nit something she can handle, her mind is too jumbled," The Tiger spoke out.

"I don't care, we need to find Davis, and she is the only one left who can tell us where he is going to be," Nick threw out with anger.

Olivia grabbed Nick's forearm and said, "Nick he's right, she's too far gone, whenever, her from now is here we don't have enough time."

"Holland Street," She spoke out. Nick and Olivia turned their head to Willow to see her again say lacking a smile, "Ellie is on Holland Street."

"Liv, write that down," Nick ordered. "Willow, is that where she's buried?" He asked begging for an answer.

Willow looked down at her feet then back up at them saying, "I-I'm afraid so, she died some time ago, Darcy goes to see her at noon every day to give her a flower."

"Thank you, Mrs. Davis," Nick replied with a kind tone.

"It's just Miss now, my husband died some time ago," She interjected.

Nick cleared his throat before saying, "Well thank you for your hospitality we must be going now."

"Yes thank you," Olivia added following Nick who was leaving.

"When you find my grandson! Tell him I miss him," Willow spoke out before she drew a blank and forgot what she was talking about.

Olivia looked at her one last time her smile coming back as she asked who they were.

"I can't help but feel such sympathy for her," Olivia said suddenly as they walked out the front door.

"I feel inclined to agree with you," He added, "Now e know where he's going to be tomorrow at noon, so we plan an assault team to take him down so he can answer for his crimes."

They walked up to their cars, and Olivia asked, "What are we going to to until then?"

"You still up for that Dinner?" Nick replied with a smirk.

"Oh ... uh, sure why not, come by around seven," She answered.

"Cool, I'll see if Judy is up to it," He added opening his door and getting into his seat.

"Is she doing okay?" Olivia asked as Nick closed the door to his car the window being down so he could still hear her. "I only ask because you two were out for the first time last night in a long time," She added.

Nick smiled, and he said, "Much better, she wants to get things back on track, you should talk to her yourself at dinner tonight."

"O-Okay I'll see you in a few hours then," She said waving to Nick before he waved back putting his window up driving away.

* * *

Olivia opened the door to her apartment, and she closed it behind her. She walked into her living room and fell flat onto the couch.

She closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

"Hey," Her brother spoke out.

The tired Wolf opened her eyes to her large brother hovering over her.

"Isaiah, you're good at cooking right?" She asked suddenly.

"Y-Yeah ... why?" He asked as Olivia sat up.

Olivia smiled and answered, "Well, Nick and Judy are coming over for Dinner at seven."

"W-Wha, y-you mean Nick and Judy?" He yelled in joy. Isaiah Grabbed his sister and pulled her into a hug her feet dangling off the ground, "Oh thank you so much! I've always wanted to meet them."

"N-no problem," She replied with a muffled voice, struggling for air her muzzle in Isaiah's dark red chest fur, "But could you put me down I need air."

"Oh," He replied before letting her go, "Sorry."

Oliva landed on her feet, and she said, "Thank you." she looked down then quickly back up at Isaiah's face, and she added, "And maybe you should get some clothes on, you can't be parading around in your boxers."

"Oh, sorry about that, I was going to take a shower," He replied looking down at his own body.

Olivia grinned and remarked, "Yeah, do that too." She chuckled and added, "You're a tad musky, no really musky."

"Will do," He replied, "Then ... wait what do rabbits eat?"

"I ... look it up, because I do not know." She replied.

Isaiah began to walk towards the bathroom as he said, "Will do."

"Good!" She shouted, "I'll clean up this living room of your clothes. Oh and don't leave your fur everywhere!"

Olivia began to pick up Isaiah's clothes and put them into a laundry basket.

"God, Isaiah, you're a pig," She said to herself, picking up a pair of underwear from the coffee table.

She tossed it into the basket then grabbed it, she took the basket to her bedroom and left it there hidden until Isaiah could wash them. She went back into the living room and cleaned up, she swept the both the kitchen and living room and cleaned up the couch Isaiah was using as a bed.

"Did he even realize this turns into a bed?" She chuckled, "Probably should have told him that," She laughed.

As Olivia finished cleaning up, Isaiah came out of the steam filled bathroom; he came into the living room water dripping from his wet fur with a towel around his waist.

Isaiah smiled, and with a chuckle, he said, "Don't worry, I didn't leave my fur everywhere, I picked it up and put it into the trash bin."

"You better wipe up all hat water you're dropping all over my clean floor," She replied.

Isaiah looked around and noticed his stuff missing, "Uh ... Liv, where are all my clothes?"

"I put all your dirty clothes into a basket and put it into my room," She answered, "Why?"

"Not all of those were dirty," He grumbled.

"Sorry, maybe you shouldn't leave dirty and clean clothes all over my living room," She remarked, "I found underwear on the coffee table."

"Well I need some clothes," He added.

"Well go get some from the basket," She ordered.

"But I don't know which are clean or dirty," He whined.

Olivia sat down on the couch and grinned, "Sniff them."

Isaiah did just that, he went into Olivia bedroom and closed the door behind himself to find clean clothes and get dressed. Once he did, he came out and began to prepare dinner for him, Olivia, Nick, and Judy. He did, in fact, search up what bunnies ate and created a fruit and vegetable salad for her.

* * *

Judy Curled her ears around her face; she held them down to hide her eyes from the world and to try to escape the hundreds of noises confusing and scaring her.

"Judy, Honey, I'm right here," Nick spoke out placing his paw on her head stroking it subtly, "We're almost there okay.

Judy moved her ears away from her eyes and looked at Nick, she grabbed his paw and brought it up to her mouth, giving it a kiss, before holding it to her chest.

After a few minutes, Judy let go of his paw so he could make turns, they pulled up to the apartment building Olivia lived in, and Nick parked in the underground parking to make it easier for Judy.

They walked up the stairs then took the elevator to the floor with Olivia's apartment. Nick knocked on the door, and they awaited an answer.

Olivia walked up to the door and opened it.

"Hey, guys!" She exclaimed, "Come in!"

"Hey Liv," Nick replied seeing she still had her gun holstered to her right side practically hidden from view her sweater covering it.

"Hi ... Olivia," Judy added her nervousness clearly showing through her voice.

"Come on in you guys, Isaiah is making dinner," She said with a smile on her face.

Nick walked in, and Judy followed holding onto his arm, her fear making the whole situation uneasy. However, she wanted to do this; she needed to do this, she needed to destroy the fear.

Olivia walked into the kitchen and stood beside her brother as she said, "Guy's this is my brother, Isaiah, he's been going crazy wanting to meet you."

"It's so nice to finally meet you two," He shouted extending his paw.

Judy saw his huge sharp claws, and she jumped back.

Isaiah watched and with confusion asked, "D-Did I do something wrong?"

Nick turned around and hugged Judy her face lightly pressed against his chest as he murmured, "It's okay, we can just go, Liv would understand."

"I-I saw Davis, i-it wasn't real, b-but I saw him," She stuttered out.

Olivia pulled Isaiah back and said to him, "Judy has been through a lot that past year, she isn't the same animal you saw years ago protecting this city, she's been broken and is still trying to fix herself."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know h-how did I scare her?" He asked still perplexed by the situation.

"It has nothing to do with you," She whispered. "It's your fast movement and sharp claws," She added knowing exactly what the problem was, Nick, having told her some time ago.

Nick and Judy walked up to the two wolves, and Judy said with a smile, "S-Sorry about that, I-I was a little spooked by you, it's just you reminded me of someone else."

"Oh ... I-I hope it doesn't happen again.

Judy looked up at Nick and said, "Have you met Nick.

Nick looked at Judy then up at the wolf before he grinned and said, "Hi I'm Nick I work with your sister."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Isaiah replied with a smile spread across his muzzle. "Well, shall we get dinner served and have a nice time?" He asked.

"yes, let's uh, do that," Olivia agreed.

Nick walked over to the table, and he pulled out a chair for Judy since Olivia was almost as small as Nick, she had seats small enough for them. Judy sat down, and Nick pulled out a chair beside her and sat down.

Olivia took her seat across from them, and Isaiah began to serve the three. He gave Judy the fruit and vegetable salad he made for her plus a fort for her to eat with.

"I-I didn't know what else you ate personally, so I thought I'd make you a salad," He said trying to keep a soft tone.

Judy smiled and replied as she looked down at the salad then back up at the wolf, "It's alright, this looks delicious."

The big wolf smiled back before he gave Nick his food a plate with sliced up fish and mashed potatoes with rice on the side, and a spoon and fork for him as well.

"Thanks, big guy, this looks good," Nick remarked with a grin.

He again smiled before giving the same dish and utensils to Olivia and himself. He sat down beside his sister, not in a chair but on the ground there not being one he could fit on.

"Alright, you may start," Isaiah spoke out as he stuck his fork into the sliced up fish.

As they were eating Isaiah swallowed what was in his mouth and asked with a smile, "So Nick, Judy, how did you meet my sister?"

"Nick looked at Judy and then at Olivia, "Uh ..."

"We met when I was transferred to precinct one after being promoted to detective, Olivia cut in.

"Oh, y-yeah," Nick remarked going along with the fabricated story, "I came up to my desk, and bam, right beside me was Liv, at first I was a little confused, I thought she was a fox, but then I saw her fur was closer to a red wolf. Later she told me what happened when you two and your other brother were born."

"Cool cool," He replied, "So you guys catch a lot of criminals?"

"Let's not talk work right now okay," Olivia cut in with an order in her tone.

As Isaiah went to speak there was a loud knock on the door that spooked Judy.

Olivia looked at her then at Nick before she said, "I'll go see who it is." Olivia stood up and walked over to the door and opened it, "Hel-"

Olivia pulled her gun, but before she could do anything, a loud BANG filled the apartment and the hall.

"Davis!" She spoke out her gun hitting the floor as she looked down at herself, blood pooling into her paws

"So sorry about this Olivia, but this is how it has to be," He said lacking emotion.

Then he ran.

Nick came running up to her as he yelled, "Olivia!"

She fell to the ground while she held her stomach. Nick fell beside her and picked her up, "Liv, hold on!" Nick turned his head and yelled at Isaiah who was standing five feet away from them, "Call nine one one!" Nick looked at Judy, and he said, "Judy, I-I need your help."

But she could help, she stood there in utter shock her fear completely taking over and it making it impossible for her to even think of moving. Her mind went blank as everything became nothing but silence.

Knowing she was too petrified to help Nick decided to do it on his own.

"Alright Liv, I need you to stay calm," He said with more composed voice. her looked under her blood dripping onto the floor, "Okay, it went right through you, I'm going to need you to do me something okay."

"O-Okay," She coughed out with blood it splattering onto Nick's face.

"I need you to hold on," He cried out.

Isaiah ran up to him and said with worry, "T-The ambulance is on its way it should be here in three minutes."

"Nick I-I'm sorry, I-I'm in love with you," She coughed out in pain.

"I-I know," He said with pain as he pulled her closer.

The three minutes went by, and an ambulance showed up the EMT's came running in, they got Olivia onto a stretcher, and they rushed her to the hospital Isaiah going along with them. Nick calmed Judy down and helped her through the panic attack. Before they drove to the hospital where a doctor would need to perform surgery to try and save Olivia from death.

* * *

"How is she doing?" Nick asked the Nurse who was walking out to tell him such.

The Deer answered, "I'm afraid it doesn't look good, she suffered significant damage to her stomach, and some of the stomach acids made their way to other organs, the Doctor is doing his best to clean it up but it may be too late, I'm sorry."

Isaiah began to cry before he fell to his knees.

The Deer left going back through the doors she came from.

Judy, doing her best to control her fear walked over to the weeping wolf, and she said to him, "Isaiah ... It's going to be okay; she's going to be okay."

Isaiah looked down at her as she placed her paw on his forearm, he smiled and with a sniffle said, "thank you."

"Why did Davis do this?" Nick asked suddenly.

"To tear you down," Judy answered looking towards Nick.

"No this ... this is different, he wouldn't have done it like," he replied walking back and forth.

"What do you mean?" Isaiah questioned standing up with anger.

Nick stopped in his tracks and answered, "I mean, if he wanted to tear me down, Davis would have killed her, and not with a gunshot ... Davis would've taken her life in such a brutal way you wouldn't come to the hospital to see her you would have had to come to the morgue at the ZPD to make sure it was her because she would've been so tortured her face would be unrecognizable."

"Stop!" Isaiah called out. "Just stop, I-I don't want to hear anymore, t-this is my sister!" He cried.

"You think I hate this any less than you!" Nick shouted. He walked up to the wolf and spat out, "I see the damage that fucker leaves in his wake, he's done things that would make you and anyone else shut down and ball! I kept going, why, because he needs to be stopped!" Nick drew back and collected himself before adding, "Look I'm sorry, but Olivia's life isn't the only life I'm thinking about here, my wife, this whole damn city, the one we let get ripped apart by one animal." He lifted one finger and said, "One, he killed so many, and I can't find him, I can't stop him before he gets to my friends, my wife!"

"Nick you're scaring me," Judy spoke out."

Nick looked down at his wife and realized he was again yelling, he sighed and spoke, "I-I'm sorry Judy." He let his posture go to a less tense one, and he walked over to Judy who he then hugged and said to, "I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Find him," She replied. Judy looked up at him and again said, "Find him and stop him before he kills anyone else."

Nick looked back at the doors to the hallway they couldn't enter where the nurse had walked to, then to Isaiah, he looked back down at Judy and gave her a kiss before he said, "I love you. Do you want me to take you home?"

I-I think I'll be okay, just stop him," She answered giving him another kiss."

"You tell me what happens okay?" He asked of Isaiah letting go of Judy.

"I-I will," He replied with a calmer tone.

Nick looked back down at Judy and said once more, "I love you, I'll come back for you."

"I love you too Nick," She spoke with a crack in her tone.

Nick walked way from them and headed outside of the hospital. He opened the door and the light shined on him, he pulled out his phone to check the time and saw that it was nine AM and over thirteen hours had gone by. He rushed to his car and got in turning it on before rushing down the streets of Zootopia to get back to the precinct so he could get an assault team together to rush the graveyard where Davis was going to be at noon.

Nick parked in front the main entrance before he turned his car off and ran into the ZPD.

He made his way to the detective department and when he got there said, "Listen up!" Everyone looked at him, and he said, "I know where Davis is going to be at noon today! I need the assault team to be ready for eleven."

Everyone on the assault team obeyed his orders and dropped what they were doing to prepare for what Nick was asking of him. The officers and detectives who were on the team all made their way to the briefing room on the first floor; it was rarely used now that there wasn't anyone in charge to do a morning briefing or any briefing for that matter. Most officers just learned to do it on their own; some even got permission from the administration of police and security to sign off on their own file reports there being no one to do it for them.

As the twenty members of the assault team took their places, Nick walked in and began to say," As all of you know already know there is a criminal tearing our city apart, and most of you don't know but, Olivia O'Neil was shot was night By Darcy Davis."

everyone knew who she was and they began to talk amongst themselves about what they just heard.

Nick spoke up over them, "Now I know that's surprising to hear, but we have a job to do, today at Noon Davis will be at the graveyard on Holland Street in Savanah Central." Nick lowered his voice as the rest stopped talking and he added, "He doesn't know we are aware of this, so we need to act fast before he finds out. Davis isn't one to mess with if he needs to he will kill you and you won't be able to stop him."

"Hey Wilde," A tiger spoke out, "I think we can handle one guy, some of us here have fought more than one criminal at a time."

"You know this is the guy who bombed the city right?" Nick pointed out with sarcasm, "Davis is stronger than this whole police force, and he will kill you without thinking, don't get cocky!" He ordered with dominance.

"Shut up Elias, Wilde knows what he's talking about," A rhino cut in.

"Alright!" Nick called out, "Look I know we don't have a leader, but that's no excuse to be fighting over something as trivial as this, let's just get this guy and be done with it, he's done enough damage."

A gray wolf stood up and spoke out, "Wilde's right let's just nail Davis and make him answer for the crimes he's committed to this city."

"Alright let's do this!" The Rhino yelled.

Nick cut in and said, "Get in your gear and be ready by eleven and let's end this once and for all."

He walked down in between the rows of animals sitting and standing, once he left the rest did so as well. Nick went to his desk in the detective department and pulled out his phone and called Judy.

The phone rang twice than Judy picked it up and said, "Hey Honey."

"Hey Carrots," He replied trying to sound positive. "How's she doing?" He asked losing that positive tone.

Judy took a breath and spoke, "She's ... still in there with the doctor, they're trying their best to stop any further damage, and the nurse said that the bleeding has stopped and the stomach acids are the only thing they're worried about."

Nick's eyes widened, and he said, "T-That's great, Carrot's I'm going to call you after the assault on Davis. Okay, I-I love you."

"I love you too Nick, Be careful okay," She replied in clear she feared him losing his life to Davis.

Nick ended the call, and he sighed leaning back into his chair.

He looked up at the ceiling and said to himself, "Today is the day I stop you from hurting anyone again."

As the time drew closer, Nick got up from his desk and went to the armory and began to get into the assault uniform with the rest of the animals on the team. He loaded an assault weapon, an MPfive, then he loaded his pistol and put it into his holster attached to the uniform.

Once he finished he went down to the basement parking along with the rest of the team to the black vans; they were to use to get to the graveyard Davis was to be at.

"Okay, listen up!" Nick called out, "I want everyone to come back from this assault, so please listen." Nick waited for everyone to look at him before he said, "Davis is the most dangerous animal Zootopia has seen, for some reason, I haven't been able to find out, a higher authority hasn't gotten involved, and we have been left to deal with him. He is stronger, than you, smarter, and faster, and well trained, but he doesn't know about us yet, and we need to keep it that way. Don't pull any reckless moves; we can't afford any of them."

Everyone got into the vehicles, and the team left the ZPD armed and ready. Nick sat in the back of the first van, and he patiently waited for them to reach Holland Street and end this once and for all.

"Hey Wilde," a lion spoke out.

Nick opened his eyes and looked, "Yes Andrew."

The lion spoke out and asked, "Do you think we will get a chief again? I-I mean after Bogo, short did a pretty shitty job and no one has even been asked to take his place."

Nick smirked but quickly lost it as he said, "It's a hard chair to fill, Short was too emotional to be in that position, and he was only there because the mayor wanted him there." He looked down at his feet then back up at the lion and added, "But they will put someone in charge soon enough. The administration can't leave its first precinct without a leader; they are just afraid of the same thing that happened with short to happen again, so they're probably holding off until-.'

The van stopped, and the driver said, "We're here.

"Alright let's move out!" Nick shouted.

They opened the back doors to the van nd rushed out.

"I see him," Andrew said softly pointing to Davis who was standing in front of a grave.

Nick looked ahead and saw a Panther standing in the distance, and he said, "Let's move."

but before he could do anything Davis turned around and smirked.

Nick saw Davis say and he read his lips, "I always win."

He lifted his paw and inside was a cylinder with a black button, and he pushed it ...

* * *

Nick opened his eyes looking up at the sky, but all he could see was black smoke and hear the screams of animals in pain from what happened. Nick turned his head and saw a lion saying beside him his mask torn off and blood falling from his skull.

Nick sat up and pulled off his head gear and looked around him, the van he came here in was crushed and on top of it the other vehicle blown up by Davis who had done something to cause such an explosion.

"Fuck!" a voice screamed out before Nic heard a loud BANG!

Nick looked around himself, and he heard more shots coming from an automatic weapon as someone yelled, "Son of a bitch!"

Then a loud single BANG! from a pistol, Davis was taking them out in the smoke.

Nick stood up and held his side before ripping off the vest that covered hs chest that had a piece of metal sticking in its side that almost reached Nick.

BANG! He heard again as another voice yelled out.

"Davis!" Nick called out as he limped away from the dead animal beside him. Blood dripped from his arm where something stabbed him, he looked at it and said, "Fuck."

Then as he heard another shot, he turned around and behind him stood Davis, "Hello Nick." Davis pushed him down, and he fell onto the body of a wolf who had been shot in the head, "Did you think I didn't know?" HE laughed and said, "She may forget who she is at times, but she's still kicking, I'm going to have tabs on her, or at leat bug her house."

Nick looked up at Davis and yelled, "Come on then, kill me you son of a bitch!"

Davis laughed uncontrollably before he said, "Y-You think I want to kill you?" Oh, Nick, you have a lot to learn, no ... I want you ... to kill me."

Nick's eyes widened, and with utter shock, he questioned, "W-What?"

"I need you to kill me, is it that hard to understand?" He spoke out.

"W-Why?" Nick asked trying to stand up.

"You won't do it will you?" He questioned him. "Why won't you, I've killed so many, your friends, I kidnapped your wife, I killed your parents!" He yelled out with anger.

Nick stood up and coughed, "No one deserves to die, even you."

"No Wilde some do, I am one of them, and you will kill me, even if I have to destroy this whole city I will make you end my life."

Davis began to walk away, and Nick called out, "Stop!" He pointed his gun at him and said, "You're under arrest for the murder of thousands!"

Davis chuckled and grinned, "You can't stop me, and you won't kill me, and either way even if you did, it would be what I want." He turned around and said, "I'll see you again, and it will be the last time, or I will bring hell down upon you."

Davis walked away, and Nick fell to his knees dropping to his gun. He fell onto his back and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Officer!" A voice called out, "Sir!"

"Nick opened his eyes and standing above him was a deer with the letters EMT printed on his shoulders and chest.

"Sir, I'm here to help!" The Deer spoke out, "Can you stand?"

Nick sat up and suddenly all he could hear was the sirens of ambulances, cops cars, and fire trucks.

"Son of a bitch!" Nick screamed in agony as he looked at his leg there being a sharp piece of shrapnel stuck in it.

"Sir don't move," He spoke out trying to get him help.

Nick looked at his right side, another piece of metal from the truck was in him, "Fuck!"

Another EMT came running over, and they got Nick onto a gurney and put him in an ambulance.

The ambulance rushed to the nearest hospital to get Nick the help he needed to remove the shrapnel from his body without killing him or causing more damage.

* * *

Judy sat beside Isaiah, and they had the TV in the waiting room they went into as they were watching it the program got cut off and came on the news with a moose saying, "We interrupt this program to advise Zootopia that there has been a bombing in the city."

the leopard sitting beside the moose said, "The ones responsible for this seem to be known by the ZPD their assault team being completely taken out by the criminals aside from one officer, a Detective Nick Wilde who has been severely injured and has been rushed to the Savanah general hospital in Savanah Central."

"Nick!" Judy cried out. She stood up and then fell to her knees, "T-That was Davis, h-he killed them all!"

"Is everything alright miss?" a nurse asked walking into the waiting room. She looked up at the TV and saw the images of the bombed vehicle and that there were bodies everywhere, however, they were blurred out so that it wouldn't be as graphic.

"Oh my god," the antelope spoke out, "Do ... Do you know someone on that team?"

Judy didn't answer she just cried.

"J-Judy," Isaiah said with a soft tone bending down beside her. "A-Are you okay?" He asked going to place his large paw on her back, but deciding not to touch her as to not frighten her.

"N-No I'm not okay!" She sobbed, "He's still out there, h-he killed an entire team of police officers trained to stop animals like, a-and Nick, h-he almost killed him!"

Judy Stood up and said, "I-I need to go to him!"

"I can't leave my sister," Isaiah replied.

"D-Don't worry about me, I-I'll be okay," She replied.

"W-Where are you going?" He asked standing up himself.

"To see my husband," She replied, but before she left, Judy grabbed a pen and paper from the coffee table in the waiting room, and she wrote down her phone number she passed it to Isaiah and said, "Call me the moment she's out of surgery and okay."

"I-I will," He replied.

Judy walked out of the waiting room and then ran out of the hospital, she reached outside, and her fear began to control her, the noises, the dozens of animals around her was too much for her to handle at once, but she pushed on through it.

She told herself, "I can do this, I can do this, Nick needs me."

She took a deep breath then opened her eyes, the world around her feeling less, and the deafening noise fading and becoming nothing more than faint rain falling on the top of a car.

She made her way to the street and hailed a cab to stop and pick her up.

a taxi stopped, and Judy opened the door and climbed in the driver saying to her, "Where to miss?"

"Savanah General Hospital," She ordered, "Step on it and I'll pay you double the fee."

"You got it miss, "The horse replied.

Judy strapped in, and the cab driver drove into traffic and passed as many cars as he could, going faster than usual to reach the destination he was giving.

"Did you hear about that bombing in Savanah Central? IS that why you're going to the Hospital there?" He asked.

"Y-Yes, m-my husband is there," She replied.

"Oh, is he alright miss?" She asked.

"I don't know," She answered, "Can you please do me a favor and this is nothing against you, but can you please not talk to me, I-I need to think."

"Of course miss, I'll be quiet now," The horse complied.

"Thank you," Judy said before looked down at her paws.

She felt her finger that had been cut off by Davis over a year ago, her finger worked, but damage to it caused a loss in feeling making it almost impossible to feel anything with it. She felt where it was reattached the feelings going from almost nothing to everything; she would go back and forth like this when thinking.

then the cab driver came not a stop Judy looked up, and she was at the hospital, time flew by while she sat in her own thoughts.

She pulled out her wallet and grabbed her debit car, she tapped it and paid for the price of the ride, plus the double she promised.

She opened the door and rushed out closing it behind her. Judy ran into the hospital, and she took another breath as the weight of being outside alone was becoming impossible to hold back.

"I-I made it," She said to herself with a smile.

She looked around, then ran down the huge white hallway and right to the reception desk.

"Hello how may I help you today?' the receptionist asked with a pleasant smile.

Judy looked at the otter sitting in the smaller chair with her counter much lower than the rest, and she answered, "Y-Yes, m-my husband was brought in not too long ago."

"Okay, I just need a name and species, please?" She asked.

"Nick Wilde, Red Fox," She answered.

"The otter looked at Judy with some confusion, then realized who she was before saying, "You're Judy Hopps?"

"I-It's Wilde now, and yes, but please w-where is my husband," She replied.

"O-Oh yes," She replied typing the name into the computer, the result came up with his current state. She looked up at Judy and answered, "Your husband is currently in the emergency surgery, to remove shrapnel from the explosion early today."

Judy's eyes widened, and she begged for an answer, "How is he, is he going to be okay?'

"Mrs. Wilde, please calm down, I'll find out for you, all right," She replied before grabbing the phone beside her computer. The Otter spoke on the phone for a few minutes before hanging up and saying, "Mrs. Wilde, your husband is going to be okay, they just had to remove the shrapnel carefully so they wouldn't damage anything.

"I-I want to see him," She demanded.

The receptionist smiled and said, "I've told the doctor to have you called from the waiting room in the emergency department in section C of the hospital, as soon as he's in a suitable place for you to see him." She smiled again and said, "Just follow this hallway to the end and turn right you will come to section C."

Judy smiled "Thank you."

She walked away, and down the hallway until she came to its end and she turned right, then walked until she came to a double door that had a sigh which read, "C." She pushed through the door, and the noise of animals sick or in pain filled her ears.

her thoughts began to race as fear pulled it's way to the top, but she said to herself before taking in a deep breath, "I don't need to be afraid, I don't need to be afraid, I can do this, he needs me." She opened her eyes and let out her breath and the fear, lesser in her mind, but there, just enough to make her uneasy.

Judy walked towards the waiting room, and she took a seat in the corner away from anyone.

she waited and waited, but no one called her over to see Nick.

"Judy Wilde?" A voice called out.

Judy looked up to see a bear standing in the entrance to the waiting room, "Yes, that's me!"

"Please come with me," He ordered.

Judy jumped out of her seat and followed the bear until he stopped at a closed door.

The Doctor said with a pleasant tone before opening the door, "Now I need to tell you, he's been through a lot, but he will heal and be up on his feet in a few weeks." The Doctor paused before saying, "But ... There is some lasting damage you need to be prepared for."

The bear opened the door and let Judy walk in.

"Carrots they told me you were here, I didn't think you would come all by yourself, that's such a step up!"

* * *

 **Hello my friends, for the most of June I will, sadly, have to cut back on writing which I have already been doing for the last two weeks.**

 **This is unfortunate because I had seven short stories planned to be written and finished plus the rest of the story. Now, this doesn't mean I won't be writing, it just will be much less of it meaning it will take me much longer to get out what I have planned, so chapter twenty-two may take just as long as this one to come out.  
**

 **I hope you guys can forgive me for making this note so late into this situation of mine, but now you all know. Thank you.**

 **Until Next Time ...**


	22. Hope

Chapter Twenty-two: Hope

When someone desires in death, how do you punish them?

* * *

"Nick, m-my God!" Judy rushed to him and jumped onto the bed giving him a hug.

"Ow!" He screamed. "Ease up honey," He replied.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," She cried back.

"Hey, hey it's alright," He whispered into her ears, "it ain't nothing that won't heal, well except for my ear."

Judy looked up at Nick, and she sobbed, "Nick, Davis has hurt you so much."

"Shh ...," He replied pulling her head close to his chest, "I know sweetie, I know ..." He gave her a kiss on the top of her head then asked, "How is Liv doing?"

"I don't know, w-when I left, s-she was still in surgery," She answered her voice subtly muffled by Nick's hospital gown.

Nick gave Judy another kiss and said while he softly stroked her ears with his arm that wasn't in a sling, "I hope she makes it out of this."

"I hope so too," Judy replied as she tried to get into Nick's lap without hurting him.

Nick picked her up with his one arm and positioned her in between his legs, she leaned in and placed her head on his stomach as his legs surrounded her. Then Nick laid down and slowly stroked Judy's back.

"I'm so proud of you," Nick spoke out, "You came all this way, through the city to see me, you pushed through the fear."

"Anything for you," She answered as she grabbed Nick's paw and intertwined her fingers with his larger ones and kept them together.

"I love you, Judy," Nick said with meaning and a pleasant smile.

"I love you too Nick, I always will, no matter what happens, no matter the pain, I will always love you."

Nick had kissed her as her phone rang there being no medical equipment in the room. Judy pulled it out of her pocket and answered the call.

"Hello," She spoke into it.

"J-Judy, i-it's me Isaiah," The Wolf replied almost sounding broken.

"Isaiah is ... is she okay?" Judy asked begging for an answer.

"Olivia is out of surgery, but ...," He sad before he began to cry.

"Isaiah, it's okay, tell me," Judy restated with sympathy.

The wolf had sniffled before he spoke with a cracked voice, "I just spent some time talking to the doctor, they've stopped any further bleeding or leaking of stomach acids, but ... but the damage is extensive a-and they say she won't make it through the night."

"Oh my God," Judy spoke out her eyes widening and her tone filled with shock. "Isaiah I-I'm sorry," She added with a crack in her voice.

Isaiah sobbed, "T-Thank you but ... that's not going to change anything, m-my sister is going to die." She sniffled then said, "Goodbye Judy."

Then he ended the call and left Judy with what he said.

Judy dropped her phone and stuttered, "N-Nick, She's ..."

"Is she alright?" He asked with brightened and hoping eyes.

"N-No," She answered. "They don't think she's going to make it through the night," She cried.

"We need to go see her!" Nick blurted out.

Judy sat up and rejected, "No, you're all bandaged up, Nick, you need to rest."

"We have to say goodbye if she isn't going to make," He ordered trying to sit up.

Nick, you can't!" She demanded.

Nick stood up despite his right leg being banged, "Judy ... she's our friend, I've worked by her side every day for the last year, I'm going to say goodbye."

She looked down at her feet then back at Nick and said, "Okay, I'll get us a cab."

"Thank you," He smiled at her.

Judy pulled out her phone and began to call a taxi company number.

Nick limped to the small cabinet by the bed he was just on, and he opened it. Inside was his clothing; he had taken off his overcoat for his suit because it was too bulky to go under the assault armor, however, the rest of his suit was there because he had it on under the armor. He grabbed it and limped to the washroom in the hospital room, and he closed the door behind himself.

Nick had been hurt before but not like this, this was something new to him. Thanks to the painkillers in his system he didn't feel much from what the explosion had done to him, but in the mirror, he could see it.

His face was covered in little white bandages for the small cuts that covered his cheeks and muzzle; he had four stitches down the side of his left check. He left ear was again hurt the inside of his inner ear having a cut across it with more white bandages in it.

Nick looked to the side, and his eye widened at actually seeing the extensive damage. His right eye was swollen and purple and looked like he had been beaten up. His right ear was all but gone, something must have hit it and pulled it off. All that remained was his inner ear and what he assumed to be raw remains of what was once cartilage that was tall, pointy and covered in fur, seeing as it was bandaged up to keep it safe from further infection and pain from something as little as the wind blowing.

"God, why my ears?" Nick asked himself before reaching for his back with his right arm to untie his hospital gown. He pulled it from under the sling and off before tossing it to the side, He grabbed his undergarments and tried to figure out how to put them on with one arm.

"Ugh," He grumbled as he limped to the toilet and sat down.

He tried to get his underwear on but couldn't.

"Damn it," He grumbled.

Then he heard a knock on the door and Judy say, "Nick are you alright.

"No, I-I can't get my clothes on," He replied with frustration.

Judy opened the door and closed it behind her.

"This is going to make things hard," Nick added with a grin trying to hide how broken he felt, not being able to dress himself.

"Do you want me to help you?" Judy asked walking up to Nick.

"I may have pride, but I know when to let it go and have yu help me," Nick chuckled out. "Now can you pull my underwear up?" He chuckled.

"Of course," She smiled.

Judy grabbed Nick's undergarments and slipped his feet into the holes for his legs.

"I didn't think I'd be doing this for anyone for a long time," Judy spoke out pulling Nick's underwear up as he stood up so she could pull them up to his waist covering his privates.

"W-What do you mean?" Nick asked as he looked down at Judy who was grabbing his dress pants that had holes in them and dirt in some places.

"I-I don't know, maybe in the future. l-like when they succeed in genetic modifying we can have a kid," She studdered out while she pulled his pants up, making sure not to cause further harm to his legs seeing they had bandages all over them plus stitches in one of them as he again stood up.

"Judy, w-what's bringing this up?" Nick asked with widened eyes.

"I-I don't know," she mumbled as she zipped up his pants. She looked up at him and said, "I want to have a family with you!" She blurted out.

"I-I think that's obvious, but Carrots where is this coming from, why are you bringing this up now?" He again asked.

Judy pulled Nick's arm out of the sling very carefully, and she slowly slipped on his sleeve as she answered him, "So ... So I don't have to lose you, I-I mean all of you ... I-I-I ..."

"So you can have someone if I ever die?" He answered for her.

She looked down her ears drooping, "Y-Yeah ... n-now that you say it, it almost sounds selfish."

Nick gripped Judy's chin with his good arm, and he caressed it as he smiled, "No it's not, I-I mean, I get it, I thought about that some time ago, b-but I never brought it up because you always said you didn't want to have kids."

"W-Well ... I changed my mind," She answered with a smile as she grabbed Nick's paw and loved it.

"Maybe ... maybe after this, all this, I want to know that everything will be okay," He replied looking down at her with a smile.

"Come on let's get you dressed," She changed the subject.

Judy finished helping Nick get dressed into his clothes that have black dirt and holes all over them. Then she helped him get his arm back into his sling, and they left the bathroom.

Using his badge, Nick checked himself out of the hospital, and he used crutches to help him walk outside of the hospital. They walked out, and Judy managed to keep herself calm, more relaxed than her way there, maybe it was because of Nick, perhaps it was her overcoming what horrified her so much. Or maybe it was both, but whatever it was at the moment she wasn't scared.

The cab Judy had called was waiting outside by the front doors to the hospital, they got in, and he already knew where they wanted to go. He took them to Zootopia General Hospital, and they made their way to the E.R. where there were rooms for those who were unsteady and might need extra immediate care.

They walked through the E.R. until they found Isaiah who was with Olivia who was asleep.

Isaiah turned when he heard them walk into the curtained room.

"Hey bud," Nick spoke out.

"Don't," He replied. "Don't call me bud, you couldn't save her!" He yelled out. "You couldn't kill the one who did this to her!" He raged as he stood up., "You let him take your whole team out!"

"Isaiah Stop!" Judy intervened.

"Stop what? The truth? He couldn't kill him even if he tried!" He lashed out.

"Davis wants me to kill him!" Nick cut in.

"What?" Judy questioned turning to him.

"Davis wants me to take his life," He restated. "That's ... that's why he's doing this," He added while pointing to Olivia, "Doing all of this."

"Then why didn't you!" He yelled.

"Is everything alright?" A nurse asked walking past hearing the commotion.

"We are okay," Nick answered, then the nurse kept on walking.

"Why didn't you kill him if that's what he wants to give it to him," Isaiah said with a quieter tone.

"Nick, When did you find this out?" Judy asked still shocked by the information.

Nick answered, "I found out today, a-after he killed my whole team after he shot officers that were in too much pain to do anything to him in, cold blood." He sat down in a chair that was in the room, and he added, "This he must have been his plan from the beginning, h-he's wants me to hate him so much that I kill him."

"Then Kill him," Isaiah demanded.

"I can't!" Nick yelled out. "I won't become him! I won't!" He cried out.

Judy interrupted, "You both need to stop this, no one is doing anything until we know what's going on."

Isaiah realized what he was doing before he fell to his knees and began to cry knowing that he was becoming irrational and idiotic.

"I-I just don't ant to lose Olivia," He cried out.

"None of us do," Nick added standing up to walk over to the broken wolf. "But I can't kill Davis, it's what he wants' I don't know why he wants it, but he does. I won't give him that, I won't succumb to his demands," Nick said with sympathy looking as Olivia who was in the hospital bed sleeping peacefully, her body trying to heal itself unsure if it would be enough. "I will put him away fro the rest of his life, but I won't become what he did when he killed my parents," He added with certainty.

Isaiah stood up and walked over to the bed with Olivia, and he whispered into her ear holding back his tears, "I love you, sis, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything, I don't know how I-I'm going to tell dad or Abraham. Please make it through this"

Nick walked up to the bed, and he said, "Hey Liv," He stopped to wipe a tear from his muzzle then added, "I-I'm sorry this happened, I shouldn't have dragged you into this ... Goodbye Olivia."

Judy walked up and added, "I hope the doctors are wrong and you make it out of this."

The machines kept beeping, and the silence ensued. Nick sat down and Judy beside him, Isaiah stood by the bed for hours until they moved her from the E.R. to a quieter room, and he continued there. The uncertainty scared them, the doctor had told Isaiah that it was unlikely she would make it, but if there were a slight chance she would take it, Olivia would fight for it.

* * *

"You wouldn't kill me, now she dies," Davis said as he held Judy in his arms unconscious and bleeding.

"No!" Nick yelled as Davis broke Judy's neck and dropped her to the floor kicking her body away like it was nothing but trash.

Nick pulled out his gun and killed Davis the BANG echoing; he shot him again and again until all right shots were in the Panther. Then he reloaded and walked up to the dead animal, and he continued to shoot him while he screamed in anger.

Nick dropped his gun and walked over to Judy who he picked up in his arms and held while he cried, no longer as Nick, but the evil Davis became all those years ago.

"Judy!" Nick screamed falling out of the chair in the hospital room.

Judy who was sleeping on the chair beside him woke up and saw her husband on the ground. She immediately knew what had happened.

She jumped off the bed and comforted him, "I'm here Nick, I'm here ..."

Isaiah was at the end side of the bed where Olivia slept, and he woke up to Nick's scream.

"What's wrong?" He asked with confusion in his eyes as he looked down at the Fox who was in pain and crying.

Judy didn't answer, and neither did Nick, all she said was, "I'm here Nick."

Isaiah still didn't understand, not knowing them long enough to know, so he gave his sister a kiss on the head then left the room for a walk until Nick and Judy were no longer in such manner.

"I-I don't want him to take you away from me ...," Nick sobbed, "I ... I'll become him if he does ..."

"Look at me," She whispered holding his face trying not to hurt him with there being cuts all over him. "He won't take me from you, and you won't become him, okay," She reassured looking him in the eyes, only one of his eyes being able to see fully because the other was still swollen.

"He's stronger than we know," He wept out. He sniffled and said with pain, "He killed them all, in front of me, some of them didn't even have their weapons, a-and the ones that were dead, h-he shot anyway, j-just to be sure!"

"He won't win again, you can beat him I-I know you can," Judy pushed hoping it to be true.

Judy comforted him until he calmed, pain raging through his body, the painkillers he had taken hours before wore off, causing him to need more.

The sun rose and another night had gone by, Olivia was still alive, but had yet to wake, her state still critical. Nick despite having an injured leg, went for a walk through the hospital halls to think and wait, unable to even work in his condition, giving him nothing to occupy his mind to push all the fear of losing not just his wife, but his friend, and what he stood for. He pondered over Davis wanting him to take his life and the question of why. Why have him take his life? It confused Nick, what could possess someone to have them become so conflicted to do such horrible things just so someone would kill them?

Nick limped back into the hospital room Oliva was sleeping in. Judy and Isaiah were sitting talking trying to make the day go by faster.

Judy turned her head as she heard Nick enter the room, "Nick, you shouldn't be walking."

"It helps me think," He rejected,

"Look, Nick," Isaiah spoke out, "I-I'm sorry about last night, I-I was a dick, I just don't know what to do."

Nick smiled and replied, "Don't worry about it, I completely understand." He looked to Olivia who was still asleep then he said, "I don't know what I'd do if anyone I loved were in this state."

"I just wish there was more I could've done, you know?" He added trying to sound calm and collected rather than angry or devastated by his sister's state.

"We all wish that," Judy replied placing her paw on the large wolf's forearm.

Isaiah looked down at Judy then back at Nick while he said with a faint smile, "Y-You guys don't have to stay you know, I-I can call you if anything changes."

"It's okay; We will stay," Nick answered as he walked up to Judy.

"Nick, I think we should go," Judy interjected, "He should have some alone time with her, and you need rest."

Nick wanted to argue, but it would be futile, Judy was right, and he knew it.

"Alright, I guess we are leaving," Nick stated lacking a smile and his usual charm. The quickly changed, however, when his one ear perked up and said with a grin, "Alright Carrots, take me home."

Judy subtly smiled as she said, "Alright, let's go." As they walked out, Judy turned around and said, "Goodbye Isaiah we will see you soon, hopefully for some good news."

"I hope so too," He answered waving to her as she and Nick left.

The two walked out of the hospital and grabbed a taxi to take them to the ZPD first so Nick could pick up his car, which he knew he shouldn't be driving with one working arm, but did anyway.

They drove home and didn't speak to one another the whole time, and Nick parked in his reserved spot in the basement parking. He limped his way to the elevator with Judy's help, and they took the lift to the floor which their apartment was on. They went inside and went to their bedroom.

"Nick we need to talk," Judy protested.

Nick sat down on the bed and asked, "Can you help me first?" he indicated to his pants while he said, "I can't get the button."

Judy walked up to him and helped him remove his dirty, ripped pants; then she helped him strip off the rest of the clothing, leaving him naked in their bed.

Judy laid down beside Nick, and she asked, "Can we talk now?"

"I don't really have a choice do I?" He replied with a grin.

"Nick this is serious!" Judy blurted out. She sat up and looked down at his face, "We need to talk about this."

Nick sat up and asked, "Talk about what? About today, last night, the day before, the one before that? Judy, what is it?"

"Everything!" She answered, "We need to talk about everything!"

"I-I don't know where to start," Nick spoke out. He placed his paw on Judy's shoulder, and he said, "All I know is that I don't want to lose you. That ... I don't want to lose anything else, no one else."

Nick held back his tears, and Judy said to him, "You are going to stop Davis, He will not beat you, you the ZPD is stronger than him. Nick, you know him now, you know what he wants, use that against him."

"I-I can't do anything, not like this," He said looking down at his hurt arm and leg, "I can barely walk without your help or a crutch."

"Then we get you help; there's got to be more people in the ZPD who can help you," She suggested.

Nick shouted, "I'm not sending anyone else to their deaths! ... Not again." He looked back at hr and added, "and even if I wanted to, there aren't enough officers left, precinct one just lost twenty officers and detectives. The ZPD was already short on staff we can't afford to lose anyone else, the Academy is bringing in forty new officers by the end of this month, but I'm not sending them into a fight they will die in."

"Then we wait," She shot back, "We wait until you can."

Nick looked up at the ceiling and said, "He's only going to kill more animals." He looked back down and added, "No matter what I do someone is going to die."

Judy moved closer to Nick, and she hugged him while she spoke to him, "He won't kill anyone without a purpose right? So we know he won't kill anyone unless Davis knows you can come after him to kill him like he wants, so as long as you're out of commission, Davis won't hurt anyone."

Nick pulled away from Judy and said back, "Or he could kill animals knowing I can't do anything about it, to make me resent him even more because I know he knows I can't do anything."

"Stop being so negative," Judy ordered.

"I'm not negative; I'm using what I know about Davis to predict what he's going to do next." Nick shot back, "Which by the way isn't working because I can't figure him out."

Judy crawled off the bed and stared at the wall for a few minutes, but it felt like hours.

Nick crawled up the bed and sat on the edge placing his paw on her shoulder while he said to her, "Look, Judy, I-I'm sorry, but this isn't as simple as it seems." He looked down at his leg then back up at Judy who was still facing away, and he added, "Judy, Honey ... I can't do this alone, but I can't bring anyone else into this I need you, I need your help, butI won't ask you, I can't ask you."

Judy turned around and interrupted, "Ask me, Nick, I will help you, I will be there for you, I'm overcoming my fears, we know that I want to, no, need to help you stop him."

Nick Looked down at Judy, who's head was on his stomach, he caressed her ears while he said to her, "J-Judy, I can't, I don't want you near him, I don't want him near you."

Judy didn't know how to reply; she just stayed there in silence. Nick wished he could do something more, begged for the uncertainty to be over.

After a few minutes, Nick decided he should try and get some rest, despite the fear of another nightmare. He suggested Judy get some too and she agreed.

Judy Took her own clothes off, leaving just her undergarments, Nick was already naked, they didn't sleep under the covers, the daybeing too hot, so they fell asleep in one another's arms.

* * *

As she opened her eyes the bright light blinded her. She stuck her paw over her eyes to stop the light from hitting her eyes directly. She looked ahead of her and went to sit up, but was thrown back to the bed by the pain she felt in her stomach. She looked around everything still blurry the only thing she could hear was a steady, BEEP.

She felt her arm, inside it was an IV needle. She again tried to move back couldn't the pain being too much for her to handle. She looked around the room again this time the blur she saw was almost gone. Beside the bed was a table with a few flowers in it. She turned her head to the other side of the bed she saw all the medicals equipment that seemed to be what was keeping her stable and fed. She rubbed her eyes then looked at the closed door to the right of her. She began to feel drowsy, and her eyes began to wonder before a blur took over her sight once more, then she fell asleep no longer able to keep herself awake.

"Wake up!"

"Wake ... up!"

She opened her eyes to feel a rush of adrenaline pulsing through her. She looked around; the sun that had been shining through which felt like moments ago was gone the bright light that blinded her had been dimmed and the window beside the door to the hallway was covered with a blind. She looked to the right and standing beside her was a tall figure. Her eyes focused and it became black with a white overcoat.

"A-Are you a doctor?" She asked barely able to get a voice out.

"Unfortunately for you, I am not," He said with a grin, his sharp white teeth peeking out of his mouth.

"T-Then w-who are you?" She asked her heart rate rising, the beeping of the monitor getting faster along with it.

"You know me," He chuckled. He leaned in and whispered into her ear, "I put you here."

"W-What do you want from me?" She choked out.

He pulled away from her and said, "Tell him that if he doesn't do what I want, I'll make sure you never leave this hospital alive."

"I-I don't understand," She mumbled out fear gripping her.

"You will when the times comes," He grinned before going over to her IV line and injecting a substance into it.

"W-W-What is ...," She murmured out before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Nick unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off with his tie carefully while looking into the bathroom mirror. He began to pull off the bandages around his ear, as he did the pain of it sticking to the raw skin made his paws tremble. However, he needed to change the dressing it being over a week since he did. Once he got the bandage off, he tossed it into a plastic bag, then into the trash beside the counter.

It had begun to heal, but it was slow, the damage was extensive, and it left him lacking one ear. Nick turned on the cold and hot water taps so the water flowing out would be warm. He put a blog into the sink and let it fill up. He grabbed a washcloth from the drawer under the counter, and he soaked it in the water that filled the sink. He took it out and squeezed the excess water then began to pat his wound to carefully clean it. Sadly, however, it didn't matter how lightly he pressed on it the pain still hit him hard.

After pushing through the pain of cleaning his wound, Nick grabbed the roll of gauze and began to wrap it around the raw red, tender skin. He had to go slowly and carefully so it wouldn't hurt what little ear he had left even more.

Nick put his shirt and tie back on and walked out of the bathroom. He went into his room and fell on the bed.

Judy turned her head to look at him ande she asked, "How's it looking?"

"Still raw in a few spots, but I'm good, I can walk, I have my other arm back," He answered. He sat up and turned to Judy adding, "I'm back at work, but ... Davis hasn't shown up, or done anything why?"

Judy sat up and took hold of Nick's paw and said, "I'd wish I could say that was a good thing, I-I mean no one is getting hurt by him, but you need to find him to stop him."

Nick gave Judy a kiss then broke away and said, "Are you going to visit Liv today?"

"Yes, I'll let you know if anything happens while I'm there," She replied with a smile before pulling Nick back into another kiss.

They broke away again, and Nick said with a subtle smile, "Alright, I gotta get to work." Nick grabbed his overcoat for a new suit he bought to replace that last one, he said with joy, but sincerity, "I love you, Carrots."

"I love you too Honey," She replied with a smile.

Nick closed the bedroom door and left. Judy laid in bed for another twenty minutes before she got up. She still feared the outside world, but it no longer stopped her from going outside, she fought it and with every time she went out she gained more of her strength, the fearless life she had lost over a year ago was coming back.

Judy walked out of her bedroom and went into the living room. She was only in her undergarments because she wasn't ready to get dressed. Judy dropped to the floor and began to do her workout routine. Judy didn't go to the gym anymore, she never felt safe there, but now that she was gaining her life back, it was an option she would soon consider.

After she had finished her work out, she took a shower, then got dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white V-neck shirt, she ate some breakfast then brushed her teeth.

She was ready to head out but stood in front of her front door waiting to go out.

She took in a deep breath then exhaled before she opened her eyes saying, "I can do this."

Judy opened the door and walked out into the hall; she made her way to the lift pressing the button for the doors to open. Once they did, she walked in and took it down to the main lobby of the apartment building.

Judy walked to the front entrance, and as she walked through the doors her heart raced, but she was able to do it. Every time she did, it became easier.

She called out to a taxi, and it stopped for her to get in, she took it to the hospital where Olivia was still recovering from her injury. The doctors had said that she woke up a few times, but she was completely disoriented of her surroundings and what was happening. They also stated that it's a complete miracle she was still alive, despite being in a hospital bed for nearly a month.

The taxi stopped at the front entrance to the ZGH, and Judy paid him the price for taking her here. She existed the cap and walked inside the hospital and went to the front desk where she asked to see Olivia O'Neil. They gave her a visitors card, and she went to the second floor where Olivia would be sleeping peacefully.

Judy walked into the hospital room to see that there was not just Olivia and Isaiah but two more red wolves in the room.

Isaiah noticed Judy walk up to the door, so he smiled and said, "Oh Judy, how nice of you to come." He stood up and walked over to her to shake her small paw, "Is Nick here?"

"NO he had to go to work," She replied.

"Are you going to introduce us?" One of the wolves Asked.

"Oh of course," He answered with a smile. "Judy meet my brother Abraham and my father, Isaac."

Judy smiled and said, "Hello, it's nice to meet you.

"It's nice to meet you," Isaac replied.

"So how do you know Olivia and Isaiah?" Abraham asked as he sat back down in the chair behind him.

Judy smiled and answered, "Oh, my husband works with Olivia, I met her over a year ago shortly after I quit working for the ZPD." She hid how she was disappointed in herself for quitting and just said, "She's an incredible detective, and I pray she wakes up."

"We all do," Isaiah but in.

"So your husband is Nick Wilde?" Isaac asked clearing his throat.

"Uh, yes he is," She replied knowing where the conversation was about to go.

"I didn't think I'd ever see an interspecies relationship," He blurted out.

"Dad!" Isaiah called out.

"What?" He questioned, "I'm just pointing it out!"

"But that's not your intention," He shot back. "You always do this; you have to stick your opinion in on everything."

"But I didn't say my opinion I just didn't think I'd see their kind of relationship," He replied standing up to face his son.

"Hey!" Judy shouted. The three wolves looked at her, and she added, "It's okay, I'm not offended, so please drop it."

Isaiah took in a breath and agreed, "Alright, I-I'm sorry."

"I was just going anyway," Isaac pointed out grabbing his coat then pushing passed his sons and Judy.

"I-I should go talk to him," Abraham spoke out as he stood up.

'Why so you can make him feel okay for being who he is?" Isaiah questioned.

"Becuase despite him being who he is, he's our father," He answered before he walked passed him. Before he left, he said to Judy, "I'm sorry our first time meeting had to be like this, but you know family it's crazy at times, especially in times of grieving or uncertainty."

He turned around and walked out to catch up with his father leaving Judy with Isaiah and Olivia.

"I sorry about that," Isaiah again said taking the seat his brother was sitting in just moments ago.

Judy jumped up onto the chair beside Isaiah, and she replied, "It's Okay, really I've been through worse, you should've seen it when Nick and I first got together. Left and right animals were beings jerks and straight up ass holes about us being together, but after a while they mostly accepted us. Nick used to think it's because of what we did for the city and what we did for all predators that everyone just accepted it because we were famous. Once and awhile we still run into someone who thinks it's wrong, but I've learned to ignore it."

Isaiah smiled and said with a chuckle but with sincerity, "Well I disagree with Nick, I think animals accepted you because they know it's okay, that you can be together despite being a fox and a bunny."

"Thank you," She said back with a smile. "I like to think that's true, and I know Nick doesn't believe that anymore," She added.

the room became silent before Judy asked looking at Olivia on the bed, "How's she doing?"

"Better," He answered as he to changed his view to his sister. He stood up and placed his paw on Olivia's and added, "The doctor said she's in some sort of recovery mode and that's why she isn't waking up, her body is in pain and is trying to heal."

"I came to say hi, for Nick, and for myself," She spoke out with a subtle smile happy that she was still alive.

"How long are you gonna stay?" Isaiah asked turning his head to Judy.

"For a little while," She answered.

Isaiah just smiled before turning his head back to Olivia.

* * *

"Fuck!" Nick yelled out in the bathroom at the ZPD. "I can't do this anymore," He cried out to himself before falling back against the wall. He put his paws over his face as he said with a muffled voice, "I can't ... I can't."

After a few minutes of sitting against the bathroom wall, he stood up and wiped his eyes. He went to the sink and washed his paws then splashed water onto his face to mask the fact that he was crying.

Nick dried his face and paws with a paper towel then he left the bathroom. He walked back into the detective department which now had fewer animals in it than ever. He walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair, he turned on his computer, and the screen lit up. He logged into the ZPD and began to catch up on some paperwork. He hadn't filed anything since Olivia was shot plus a few cases before that and the work was piling up.

Nick opened up a case file about a robbery and a document to write in. It was a case he worked with Olivia before Davis resurfaced and killed the fox that was working towards being like him.

Nick looked over what he and Olivia had written in the case file so long ago. Then he began to write down in the document all items of evidence, all stolen items, the scene where the robbery happened, the animals involved the theft, the perpetrators the, details of investigation, and how they discovered who was behind it.

Nick hoped that doing all the paperwork from cases before Davis' return would help him take his mind off of things, but it didn't, it only made the pain and anger worse.

Then the silence that the lacking detectives and officers brought hurt him more. There were still detectives and patrol officers in the precinct, but the numbers had dwindled. Knowing he was responsible for putting twenty other's lives into that danger getting them all killed pained him even more, but he had to hide it. If he didn't, the anger he kept under control would burst out far worse than what happened in the restroom.

Nick stood up and walked over to the break room, and he grabbed a cup of black coffee. He washed it down, before grabbing a second cup full and he did the same as the last.

Nick washed the cup then put it in the sink beside the coffee machine. He walked back out of the break room then went back to his computer, he saved the document, then turned off the computer and left the ZPD.

He walked and walked trying to clear his head of all that was happening when he got a call from Judy.

He answered the call, and with a cherry tone he asked, "Carrots is everything alright?"

"I just wanted to check in on you," She replied.

Nick smiled even though Judy couldn't see it and with a little chuckle, he said, "Thank you, honey, I'm ... I'm okay."

Judy was silent for a few seconds before she said with certainty, "No you're not, I can tell, we've been married for over four years now, I know when you're hiding it."

Nick knew she was right and he just chuckled, "I shouldn't have tried to hide it." He continued to walk while he talked to her as he said, "I want to talk about it, but I don't know how."

"Come home," She said, "Come home, and we will find out how."

"I-I'm at work," He tried to debate.

"Nick, come home, talk to me, please," She begged.

he was negligent, but he caved wanting to be with her and talk about what hurts, "Alright, I-I'm coming home."

"I love you, Nick," She replied.

"I love you too," He added before ending the call.

He turned around and walked back to the ZPD, he went to the underground parking and got into his car. He turned it on and drove out of the parking lot and out to the road. Nick made his way through the city and to his home, not the building, but her, the only one who took away any pain he felt.

Nick took the lift until it came to his floor, he got out and walked to the front door of the apartment.

he went inside and spoke out, "Judy."

Walking out of the bedroom was the bunny he was looking for, he ran up to her and picked her up.

"Nick, what's wrong?' She questioned.

"I just need you," He spoke out. Nick kissed her then added, "You're all I need then everything will be okay."

"Nick," She replied, "Everything will be okay, things are getting better, I-I'm going out again, I'm not afraid anymore."

"I'm so proud of you!" He shouted spinning her around.

"But there's something more bothering you still; it's more than just Olivia and Davis isn't it?" Judy asked as Nick set her back down on the floor.

Nick looked away from the back at her, and he answered, "Y-Yes."

"What is it?" She asked.

Nick walked over to the couch in their living room, and he sat down and sighed.

Nick caved and answered, "I can't help but blame myself for what happened to those officers and detectives." He looked at Judy who sat down beside him, and he continued to say, "I promised them they could beat Davis that he had no idea we were coming, then ..."

Judy held his face with her paws while she said to him, "It wasn't your fault."

"He slaughtered them, killed the like they were bugs under his feet!" Nick yelled out with tears in his eyes.

Judy let go of him and face in front of them, and she said, "When Thelonius and Janet were killed by that broken, manipulated wolf I blamed myself." She looked at Nick and continued to say, "Nick it wasn't my fault, it was Davis who manipulated that wolf who killed them, we didn't do that, and we did our best to stop it from happening." She took hold of his paws with hers and added with sincerity, "Nick it is not your fault those cops were killed, Davis did that, and he will paw for his crimes, we will put him away for the rest of his days."

"I-I just wish I could've stopped him from killing them," He murmured out. "I-I didn't even tell their families; someone else had to, I-I should've!" He added wiping the tears from his eyes.

Judy pulled Nick into a hug to comfort him.

"You're right," He said with a sniffle, "I-I shouldn't blame myself, but ... how can I not when I saw them die?"

Judy pulled away and looked Nick in the eyes as she spoke, "You don't have to blame yourself for anything Davis has done, he and he alone is responsible for all of this, not me not you."

"I love you," Nick whispered before he gave Judy a kiss on the lips.

Judy kissed him back as she held the sides of his head to pull him closer as they kissed.

Judy broke the kiss, as she took a breath and she spoke, "I-I missed this." She pulled him into another kiss and after a few seconds added, "I-I've missed your touch."

Nick chuckled knowing she was referring to, "Let's change that shall we?"

Nick held Judy in his arms as he fell over now laying on the couch with Judy under him as they continued to love. Judy unbuttoned Nick's jacket and pulled off his tie then she put her paws under his white dress shirt until Nick unbuttoned it and pulled it off revealing his muscled body.

Scars painted his chest, sides, back, and arms, some large others small. They represented something more than just an old injury, they stood for what he did, to serve and protect to stop evil, every scar was him doing that or fighting too.

Nick leaned over Judy, and he took off her shirt as he kissed her neck. Judy threw her arms around Nick's neck as he embraced her and unclothed her down to nothing but undergarments.

It had been so long since they felt each other's touch in such an intimate manner that they couldn't contain themselves. Nick unzipped his pants and pulled them down along with his boxers; he leaned to the right to pull it off one leg then to the other side to pull it off the left. Nick tossed the pants to the floor with the rest of his and Judy's clothing.

Judy felt him in her paws as Nick's pent up body warmed up. Nick reached below and pulled down her undergarments her intimacy meeting his, the heat sensitive to the touch of him. Judy pulled his head close to her, and she kissed him long and lustfully. Nick moved in closer to her and wrapped his arms around her back as he lifted her off the couch and pressed her chest against his.

Nick pushed his muzzle into Judy's neck and softly nibbled on her skin before kissing her. He set her back down on the couch below them, and he moved up, and his heat touched hers.

"Mnnm ...,' She moaned out as he pushed into her. "N-Nick ...," She mumbled out.

Nick had kissed the top of her head before he said with a calm voice, "I'll go slow."

Judy's pent up lust for him made everything tender, going too fast so quickly would hurt, and somehow Nick knew.

Nick slowly pushed deeper into her and stroked her inner ears with his left paw, his right arm under her. He pulled way slowly then pushed back in; he slowly sped up the pleasure and lust beginning to take over. Nick picked her up and brought her close to his chest again this time their faces not meeting, her in his chest fur and his force becoming stronger.

Judy couldn't contain herself, and she screamed out as Nick was within her.

It lasted long, the lust, the pleasure, the love they couldn't help but share. Nick's pent up release was pushing at the walls ready to break through. When it did, Nick immersed the entirety of his length. He yelled out as Judy screamed in overwhelming desirable pleasure as Nick's end met Judy's, filling his wife with the hot fluids that burst at the cracks between the two's intimacy spilling onto the couch and the surrounding fur and flesh. Judy's legs quivered as hers and Nick's warm release mixed and soaked the walls of her passion.

"J-Judy," Nick panted out, "I-It's a little stuck."

"W-What?" She questioned still held close to Nick's chest her voice muffled by his fur.

"J-Just give me a minute or two," He huffed out.

A few minutes did indeed go by before Nick began to pull himself away from Judy, she wrapped her arms around him holding on to his back as he pulled himself out. The rest of the sticky fluids fell quickly then slowed to a drip.

Nick set Judy down then began to kiss her once more before he laid down beside her and picked her up to set her down on his chest and he stroked her back as the silence flowed in ...

* * *

 **Hello sorry for such a long wait for this chapter but no more waiting I've got the whole summer to write and that's what I'll do. The nex chapter should be up on July 12th hope you enjoy.**

 **If you liked this chapter please leave me a review I love to hear what you think.**

 **if you want to see the chapters cover art go to my Tumblr which is** post/162633035735/art-by-spamjamz-want-to-read-the-full-story

 **Until next time ...**


	23. Kept It

Chapter Twenty-Three: Kept It

Life is hardest when it takes all your strength to realize all you had to do was admit it wasn't as hard as you once thought. Then the fear flows away like a broken dam.

* * *

Nick laid on the couch Judy sleeping on his chest tired out from their love session. He slowly stroked the back of his curled up bunny until he too fell asleep from overwhelming exhaustion. However, he woke up when Judy turned onto her back her chest now exposed, her legs spread out falling off Nick's sides her privates put in the open. If Nick hadn't already made love to her, he certainly would have after seeing such beauty laying on top of him.

Nick placed one of his paws onto Judy's stomach and the other on her chest and the warmth from his paws warmed her. He didn't fall asleep again, but he thought about everything. About how he was going to stop Davis, stop the nightmares, but then he thought about what was happening right now. He was happy, for the first time in a long time he felt happy. his wife, the love of his life was no longer scared she was no longer broken by fear, and the torture Davis inflicted upon her over a year ago. It made him happy, knowing she was better, nothing else mattered now if she was okay he was.

"I don't have to be scared of losing you," He thought.

Judy was strong, stronger than him; she wasn't about to be killed by some criminal, let alone Davis.

Nick whispered to himself, "These dreams, they aren't real, they don't matter, they aren't the truth or a prediction, they're just lies, lies I was stupid enough to believe. I don't have to be scared."

He smiled and wanted to wake Judy to tell her that he isn't afraid anymore, but she was so peaceful and beautiful, so he didn't. He just laid his head back down and looked up at the ceiling.

Then he remembered he had an appointment later that day with his therapist, Doctor White. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall at the other end of the room; he read the time seeing it was nearly four PM. Nick needed to get up and go see him, but that would mean he would have to wake up his wife, so he decided to skip it. Usually, he would go once a week, but all he ever did was vent at him or yell out all of his problems. He'd rather just cry them out to his wife who could comfort him instead of to someone who just sat in a chair and tried to understand something he's never gone through.

Nick just laid on the couch naked with his naked wife. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep no longer caring if he had a nightmare, knowing they couldn't hurt him anymore.

As he drifted off to sleep his cell phone ringed and startled not only him but his wife who jolted out of the grasp of his paws.

"Ow!" Nick blurted out Judy kicking Nick in a sensitive area.

"Oh my god! Nick are you okay," Judy questioned with sympathy as she got off of Nick's chest and onto the floor.

"I-I'll be fine, j-just get my phone." He grunted out while his phone continued to ring.

Judy searched through Nick's pants until she found his phone ringing, she saw the contact and answered the call putting the phone to her ear saying, "Isaiah is everything alright?'

"Oliva is awake," He spat out with joy, "S-She woke up!"

"Oh my god!" Judy squealed, "Nick Olivia is awake!" She shouted.

"We should go see her," He suggested with a grunt as he sat up cupping his privates that were now in pain.

"Hey Isiah," She said into the phone it now on speaker phone, "Nick and I are coming to see her."

"Good, because she has something to say to Nick, she says it's about Davis," He answered.

Nick's eyes widened, and he asked, "Did she tell you anything else?"

"N-No she just said it was about Davis and it was important," he replied.

"Alright, we are on our way," Nick blurted out.

"We'll see you soon okay," Judy added before ending the call. "We need to get dressed," She pointed out.

Nick placed his paw on Judy's shoulder and said with a soft smile, "Judy before we go I-I need to tell you something."

"N-Nick are you okay?" She asked hoping he was.

"Yes, I-I am, I'm okay, Judy I-I'm okay," He spoke out with a gleaming smile.

"I-I don't understand, what happened"? She asked looking at him with confusion in her eyes.

He bent down and said looking eye level with his wife, "I was laying here you on my chest when I ... I realized something." He smiled, "I-I don't have to be afraid anymore, I don't need to fear losing you."

"W-What do you mean, Nick, what happened?" Judy questioned looking him back in the eyes.

Nick pulled Judy into a hug and said, "The dreams, I feared them, I feared they would come true, and I would lose you, but seeing you overcome your own fears, seeing you regain your strength has made me realize, I don't need to be afraid." HE pulled away from her and continued to speak with a soft voice, "you and I are strong together, and nothing will tear us apart, especially some stupid nightmare."

Judy gave Nick a kiss breaking it after a few seconds to say, "Nick does this mean?"

Nick smiled and answered, "They are over because I won't be controlled by my own fears, not when I have you." Nick stood up, and he said with a subtle smile, "I have something for you."

"Y-You do?" She replied.

"Yes, but let's get dressed first," He added.

Judy agreed, and the two lovers grabbed their clothes and slipped them on. Then Nick led Judy to their bedroom where he went into the closet to search for something.

"Nick, what is it you're getting?' Judy wondered sitting on the bed her arms crossed, yet still full of curiosity.

"Hold on, I've almost got it," He said as he reached for the box, "There got it. Nick walked up to Judy with the closed white box, and he said, "I've been keeping this safe for over a year now."

"Nick, what is it?" She questioned demanding h showed her.

Nick smiled, and he opened up the box, Judy looked inside and sitting in the box was her badge engraved, "Judy Wilde."

Nick smiled as he pulled it out and said, "I knew one day you would want to come back to the ZPD, it's your dream to serve and protect, so I kept it safe until you were ready." He put the golden badge in her paw and closed her paws around it as he spoke, "This city has gone too long without it's the best protector, it's time you do what you do best ... making the world a better place."

"Oh, Nick!" She cried out with joy pulling Nick into another hug, "I love you so much!"

Nick chuckled, 'I know sweetheart, I love you too."

Judy pulled out of the hug to give Nick a passionate kiss that lasted long and was filled with love.

She broke it and said, "I-I'm glad you kept it, I really am."

"Come on let's go, we need to see Olivia," Nick pointed out standing up.

Judy stood up and said, "Hold on."

Nick turned around to see Judy placing her badge on her belt.

"Now all you need is some new clothing," Nick grinned as he turned around and walked out of the room Judy following close behind.

The two walked through their apartment going towards the door, Nick opened it, and the two left locking it behind them. They took the elevator down to the basement parking, and they got into Nick's Dodge Challenger and pulled out of the parking lot and drove into traffic.

While Nick drove, he decided to tell Judy as much as he could about Davis to inform her about his ways.

When they reached the hospital, they went straight to the room where Olivia was staying to see what it Davis.

Nick walked in, and he said with joy that she was finally awake, "Liv thank god!" He walked up to her, and he asked, "Sorry to make this blunt, but what is it you need to tell me?"

The wolf understood, and she said, "Davis came to me I-I don;t know when, but at some point, he used a drug on me to force me to wake up, and he told me something."

"W-What did he say?' Judy asked.

Olivia looked at both Nick and Judy plus her brother who was now standing behind them, and Olivia quoted, "he said to me, Tell him that if he doesn't do what I want, I'll make sure you never leave this hospital alive."

Nick and Judy looked at each other then they looked back at Olivia and Nick said, "He won't lay a paw on you."

"Nick w-what is it he wants?" She asked.

Nick again looked at Judy then back at Olivia, "Davis wants me to kill him ..."

She looked down at herself felt the pain from the gunshot how much time she was going to spend recovering wondering how long she had been in the hospital seeing Nick's lack of ear.

Then she said bluntly, "Then kill him."

"W-What?" Nick spoke out.

Olive restated with an order, "You heard me, kill him if that's what he wants then give it to him and end this once and for all."

Nick gave her a disagreeing look, and he said, "Liv I-I'm not going to give him what he wants, I'm going to make him spend the rest of his life in a cell."

Olivia tried to sit up, and she said, "Nick I-I won't back you on this, h-he needs to be killed so he can't hurt anyone else. A-And if you don't do it I-I will."

"Liv he wants me to kill him if you try he ... he will kill you," Nick spoke out begging her.

"Olivia listens to him, he's right, we can't give him what he wants, or he wins," Judy cut in.

She laid back down and mumbled out, "You're going to have to kill someone at some point might as well make it a monster."

Nick turned around and walked out of the hospital room.

Judy followed him, and she said, "Nick, don't listen to her, she just woke up from the horrible thing Davis did to her, she's just in pain."

"I-I know I just know she will try to do it herself and she's going to get hurt," He replied leaning against the wall before he slid down into a sitting position.

Judy sat down beside him, and she said, "Honey, we can stop him, we can do this together."

Nick looked at his wife, and he placed his paw on her knee, and he smiled saying, "I trust you." then he hugged her and added, "Oh how I've missed us working together!"

"Well," She said suddenly before pulling away to add, "I'm not technically working at the ZPD yet. I need to be registered."

"That's true," He agreed. Nick stood up extending his paw to Judy while he spoke, "We should go do that now."

Judy took hold of his paw, and she asked while he pulled her up, "But how, there's no one in charge to do it?"

Nick grinned, and he answered, "The ZPD is underpowered, they will accept you back, especially when it's you."

Judy smiled, and as they walked, she said, "Alright then let's go get me my job back."

* * *

Nick logged into the ZPD, and he went to employees and services.

"Nick, how are you going to give me a job?" Judy asked confused as to how he could hold the power of a chief of police.

Nick looked at Judy, and he said with a subtle smile, "When Eric short left after he let the second bomb go off, the administration of police gave me the power to hire animals seeing as we needed to and there had to be someone doing it."

Nick opened up a file that had already been finished, and all he had to do was submit it to hire Judy back on to the ZPD force.

"Wait," She wondered, "Why is this already done?"

Nick smiled, and he sat down in his chair Judy taking the seat from Olivia's desk to sit beside him, "Well when you left last year Eric told me that he was promoting you and me, but you had just left. So he said that if you ever decided to come back that there would be a place for you as a detective, so this is the file I had written up for you."

"Wait, I-I'm going to be a detective?" She questioned shocked that she was coming back to a higher position.

"Well like I said, "He smiled, "You were going to be promoted before you left."

Judy looked at Olivia's desk, and she asked, "Nick, what's going to happen to Olivia?"

"W-What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, if I'm coming back as your partner ...," She paused now looking at him who was looking at her.

"Well ... I ... She ... I don't know," Nick studdered out. "Do you think she will even be able to come back?" Nick asked.

"I'm not sure," She answered, "She's been in the hospital so long the recovery is going to take time, and she might not even be one hundred percent."

"Yeah, I-I just hope she can come back, it's her dream just like you," Nick replied.

The two didn't speak as the silence of an empty late night precinct flowed in.

The Nick spoke up, "Alright Carrots you ready to be a cop again?"

"Yes I am," She answered with confidence. "and Nick," She added.

"Yeah," Se shot back.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek then said, "You called me Carrots, it's been along time since you said it with such joy real joy behind your voice."

"I'm happy, why deny it?" He replied with a smile.

The two watched the screen, Nick hit submit, and within a few seconds, Judy was a cop again.

"There, you're back how do you feel?" Nick asked with a grin.

"Great, I feel great," She answered holding onto Nick's paw.

"OH and guess what," Nick spat out with a smile.

"Yeah?" She replied with peaked interest.

"I kept your firearm too," He spoke out while he opened up a drawer in his desk.

He reached inside and pulled out a pistol, the same pistol Judy used to keep beside her bed and on her when she worked.

"I figured you were gonna want this back," He chuckled passing it to her.

She smiled and chuckled back, "Well you thought correctly."

Judy grabbed the pistol and checked the ammo it was still loaded with the bullets she had left in it.

"Now all I need in some detective clothes," She joked.

"Well you still have some old clothing, blue dress shirt black pants, they are really sexy on you," Nick smirked.

"Oh really?" She grinned, "Well maybe I'll put that on to see if it still fits when we get home.

Nick stood up and placed his paws on her elbows as she stood up and he said to her with a seductive look in his eyes, "Well there's no reason to be here right now. So why don't we go see if they fit huh?"

"mhm," She hummed before kissing him.

The two made their way to Nick's car, and he drove them home as fast as he could the entire time Judy stared at him. when they made it home, Nick couldn't hold himself away from his wife he picked her up and kissed her again and again. The lift stopped, and the doors opened on their floor, Nick backed out, and he hit the wall Judy's leg's wrapped around his sides. She grabbed his face and held it close to her chest as she kissed the top of his head avoiding the covered ear.

Nick pulled her down and held her in his arms while he walked to their apartment. He opened the door and walked in closing it shut behind him; he managed his way to the living room where he fell onto the couch where he continued to love Judy.

Judy pushed him forward, and she said to him, "Let's take this somewhere more comfortable."

She stood up and pulled him by his tie to their bedroom an Nick said to her, "Twice in one day, you really did miss my-"

Judy pushed his tongue into his mouth as they fell onto their bed and enjoyed each other.

* * *

"Judy," Nick said softly, "Judy."

She opened her eyes to her red fox looking over her, and she said, "Hello there."

"Come on time to get ready for work," Nick chuckled out.

Judy sat up, and she reminisced, "Remember when I had to wake you up?"

"Oh how I miss those days, not having to worry about an arm having you to wake me up," Nick chuckled giving Judy a kiss.

She sat up and said, "where's your tie?"

Nick looked at his brown suit then back up at his wife, and he smiled before saying, "I didn't feel like wearing one ... and I lost the tie for this suit."

Judy giggled then she looked at the foot of the bed and laying on it was her clothing.

"You got my clothes ready?" She questioned getting out of bed.

"Yup," He grinned then added, "But I didn't get you your bra or underwear, I figured you'd like to choose those yourself."

She hugged him then went over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of underwear and her bra. She slipped into them then put on her black pants and her dark blue dress shirt with a black tie. She put her gun into her holster and the holster on her belt. She grabbed her badge and looked at it for a few second before putting it on the opposing side as her gun.

She walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to see Nick had made coffee while she was getting ready for work. The two ate breakfast and had their cups of coffee then they left their apartment. They took the lift to the basement parking and got into the challenger and drove it to work.

While Nick drove, he said, "I'm so happy right now."

"So am I, "Judy replied.

"Carrots, y-you're back by my side fighting crime, i-it's so amazing," He spat out with joy.

Nick pulled into the underground parking, and he turned off his car, and the two detectives walked out.

"Now look," Nick spoke out, "You've been gone for over a year, some things have changed, and just because you're a detective doesn't mean you've suddenly gained experience. If anything you've lost some from being gone for so long, so I know it's hard, but follow my lead."

"A-Alright," she agreed knowing he was right but hated that it was true.

The two took the elevator to the detective department, and immediately a figure that knew Judy before she left saw her, and she said, "Judy?"

Judy looked up and saw the stripped cat and said, "Jamie? It's been so long how are you?"

She lost her smile for a brief moment that it came back as she said, "Tough, things are crazy here, I'm so glad you're back you've needed someone like you here after everyone we've lost."

"I'm pleased to be back," She replied, "I just wish we can stop all this heightened crime and Davis."

"Nick been briefing you on everything?" She asked.

"Yeah, plus I see a lot of it in the news," She shot back.

She smiled and said before walking to the lift, "Well let's hope you can help bring some order back to this city."

"Already getting some praise for coming back," Nick mumbled out.

"I guess some missed me," she spoke back.

"Well let's get to work shall we," He said changing the subject.

Nick walked over to his desk, Judy didn't have her own desk so while Olivia was gone, she would use her computer and desk.

through out the day, Nick briefed Judy on crimes committed by Davis, and he showed her evidence of cases to help her learn about Davis to understand him to be maybe able to predict him or find him, but that was seeming to be impossible.

Nick was pulling up a file on his computer when his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket and answered the call, "Hello."

The animal on the other end of the line spoke, "W-Wilde, it's officer Morgan, I-I've got a murder victim, you're the only detective available."

"Alright where?" He asked.

"T-The apartment on the corner of second and third, third-floor apartment three one five," He spat out quickly.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Nick replied before ending the call. "we've got a case," Nick spoke out to Judy.

"We do?" She questioned.

Nick stood up and put his gun and holster on his belt while he said, "Yeah, murder, don't have any details, I guess Morgan will tell us more when we get there, and we can investigate."

Judy stood up and did the same while she responded, "Oh ... into worst of worst already."

"Carrots," He spoke while they walked, "Crime only gets worse, and investigating murder never gets easier."

The detectives walked to the lift and took it back down to the parking lot, and they went straight for Nick's car, Nick of course getting into the driver seat Judy in the passenger side.

He turned on the car and pulled out of the parking space and drove up the ramp out of the parking lot and onto the road.

Nick spoke while he drove, "Now I-I know you've seen dead bodies before, but there's no worse feeling than seeing someone in that position cold and bled out you think you get used to it but it's just your stomach getting stronger to the smell."

"How have you done this for so long?" She asked.

"I come home to you," he answered, "Now I have you here with me if me or you ever need to talk we can do it at home."

Nick pulled up to the apartment building parking his car on the street corner in front of it.

He and Judy got out and walked inside of the building, and they took the stairs to the third floor.

"Where are all the other cops?" Judy wondered.

"Either there aren't enough cops available to respond, or we are the first ones here," Nick answered while they waked up t the apartment door with the numbers, Three one five.

Nick knocked on the door, and he heard Morgan say, "Come in!" Nick listened, and he opened the door, he and Judy walked in and saw no one when they heard Morgan say, "In the living room."

"Is everything alright?" NIck asked as he and Judy slowly made their way through the hallway towards the living room.

As Nick turned the corner, he saw Morgan, then beside the deer was the black panther he hated.

Nick drew his gun and yelled, "Davis let him go!"

Judy heard him, and she pulled her gun and turned the corner pointing her gun at Davis.

"Well I didn't expect you to bring your wife, I've got to say, you got me on that one," Davis laughed out.

"Davis let him go," Nick again asked.

"Well don't you guys want to see the body?" The panther asked with an evil grin.

"What body?" Nick asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" He chuckled, "This one."

The panther pulled the trigger on his pistol that was pointed to the head of the deer. All they heard was a loud BANG! The bullet went through the deer's head blood splattering onto the couch, floor, and wall.

He dropped the body and pointed his gun at Judy who pointed her gun at him.

"Son of a bitch, Davis put the gun down!" Nick ordered pointing his gun at him.

"You know I want you to kill me, but you won't risk your wife's life, so no I won't put the gun down!" He raged back. "And you put your gun down!" he yelled at Judy.

"Why should I?" She yelled back.

"Because even if you get a shot on me, I'll still get one on you and trust me I'm a good shot!" He demanded.

Nick looked at Judy, and he begged, "Judy he's right, j-just put the gun down!"

* * *

 **Hello there, sorry for the two-day delay, had no power and couldn't write, so I went in try hard mode tonight to get this chapter done for you. It's a little shorter than normal, but I needed to make it this length for cliff hanger porpuses.**

 **If you enjoyed it, then you should consider giving the story a follow if you haven't already, maybe leave a review for me too, so I know what you thought of the story. There are only two chapters left in Nightmares but don't worry I'm planning a sequel that is due to come out a month after this one is done, I can't reveal anything about it yet, mainly because I haven't decided on a name yet.**

 **Want to see the cover art for this chapter** **and for my Tumblr, so you can give it a follow to be updated on the chapters for when they are coming out or when I post more art for this story go to my blog description for the links**

 **Until next time ...**


	24. To Hurt Anyone

Chapter Twenty-four: To Hurt Anyone

Promises can be made, but they can't always be kept.

* * *

"Put it down," Nick begged.

Judy glanced to Nick, then looked back at the panther who stood over the body of the cop he just killed.

"Judy," Nick cracked.

Judy put her gun down, and Davis chuckled, "I didn't think you would actually put your weapon down." He kept pointing his gun and said, "I could kill you ... but I won't." He put his gun down and added, "killing you would be pointless it wouldn't get him to kill me."

"Then what stops me from shooting you?" Judy asked pulling her gun back up.

"The fact that your husband doesn't want you to," he spoke out not easing his weapon on her.

She looked at Nick then back at Davis, and she lowered her gun again.

"What is this Davis?" Nick asked. "What the fuck are you doing?" He yelled with anger in his voice.

"What do you think?" He asked with a grin, "I'm getting you to kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you," He spoke out.

Davis laughed falling back onto the couch behind him, "Yes you will."

"Davis you don't have to do this," Nick begged.

"Do what?" He asked, "Make you end me?" He laughed, "What do you think everything I've done was for? It's so you hate me so much you kill me."

Nick looked at Judy then at Davis, and he questioned with rage, "All this was so you could destroy my sense of morality?"

Davis stood up and walked over the body screaming at Nick, "Why don't you want to kill me! I murdered your parents, I slit the wrists of your mother and made you think it was your fault she killed herself for twenty years when it was me all along!"

Nick looked up at him and shouted, "If I kill you nothing is resolved, you get the easy way out, and I live knowing that I have you that when you deserved much worse!"

Davis turned around and said, "I need you to kill me, I need my suffering to end."

"What suffering, all you cause is suffering!" He wondered, "I want you to suffer!"

Davis looked down at the body of the deer whose blood soaked the carpet, and he said, "I lost my parents in a fire after I told them I hated them, I watched my sister raped and killed in front of my eyes." He looked around and said to Nick's face, "I've dealt with terrible nightmares since I was five. I'm tormented by the animals I've killed. Killing your father was the day I truly lost myself, and I lost everything." He raged, "I'm giving you the chance to take your revenge on the animal who took your family away from you. Why don't you take it?"

Nick looked at his wife who was silent then he looked at Davis, and he said to him, "Becuase unlike you I don't need to kill someone to gain something."

The panther looked out the window down at the street below, and he said, "I'm tormented by what I am, I hate myself, and if the sliver of good in me had enough strength it would let me kill myself, but it's too weak compared to the darkness."

Nick spoke up, "Tell me why I shouldn't let this consume you while you rot away in a cell?"

Davis chuckled then looked down at the animals walking down the street, and he said, "If you don't kill me ... I'll make this city pay."

Nick pulled his gun and demanded, "Davis put your paws behind your head and get on your knees!"

Davis laughed softly at first then it got louder, "No!" He turned to Nick and questioned with laughter, "You won't kill me how do you have anything against me?"

Nick knew he was right there was no way to get him. He was bigger, stronger, faster, and had reason to be killed he'd welcome it. Nick held none of the cards, and he had them all.

Then Nick realized a gun he went off, and he said, "Someone had to have heard that shot when you killed him, someone was bound to call the police, and they will be here any minute."

"More cops won't make this any better," He replied. "And don't be stupid Wilde, don't my think I would've thought of something to keep this situation under my control?" He added wth a smirk.

"Nick he's right," Judy cut in, "What did you do Davis?"

"No he's bluffing," Nick called out. Nick kept his gun on Davis and explained, "He didn't use a silencer, and he has no way of stopping everyone in this building from calling the police and the animals on the streets who might have heard it."

"That may be true, you're right I didn't use a silencer, but it wasn't a mistake, this building has been cleared out for demolition in two days," He grinned, "I needed to give you a choice between my life and the lives of much more." He looked back out the window and continued to say, "if you don't kill me I'm going to leave this room, kill the cops that show up and keep killing everyone I see until you pull the trigger and put a bullet through my brain."

"Davis it doesn't have to be this way you don't have to hurt anyone else," Nick begged.

"But it does!" He screamed, "I've killed so many, I've felt such pain I've caused such pain!" He cried, "I need the pain to end the animals I've killed would want you to do it, everyone wants you to do it! Some animals deserve death, I'm one of them ..." He looked at Nick and said with tears in his eyes, "For progress to be made for things to move forward some must die, it's time for me to die so it can end ... so it can all end!"

"Judy, go," Nick spoke out.

"W-What?" She questioned looking at him with confusing filling her eyes.

"Go," He said again.

She walked up to him and tried to say, "Nick I-"

"I said go! Judy," He cut her off.

Within seconds of him looking at her with a tear in his eye, she knew what he was going to do, and she couldn't stop him there was no other option. It was the moment.

* * *

4 years ago ...

"Carrots I know how to put on this uniform I've done it before," Nick whined as Judy tied his tie.

"You need to have it be perfect for tomorrow morning," She blurted out. "there," She added jumping off the stool she used to reach his tie. She smiled and said with a creak of joy, "I-I still can't believe you're going to be a cop let alone my partner!"

"Aww, but Carrots," He smirked, "I'm already your partner." He walked up to her and pulled her close to him, he smiled with genuine joy before pulling her into a kiss the lasted long, once broken he said, "The only thing that changing is I'm by your side twenty-four seven."

Judy giggled, "Oh no you're right." She laughed, "I-I think we are going to have to change our plans."

"Too late fluff, I'm gonna be a cop tomorrow, and you gonna deal with it," He chuckled. "In all seriousness, I'm happy this is happening," He added with a smile.

"Me too," She replied. "I just don't know how to tell anyone about us," She pondered looked into the mirror at the foot of her bed.

Nick fell back onto her bunny sized bed and sighed, "Well let's not talk about this right now." he grinned and added with a cunning tone, "Not until you move in with me of course."

Judy's ears burned like fire then she looked at Nick while she studdered out, "I-I haven't made m-my choice yet, what i-if I want us to get a new apartment together?"

Nick sat up and patted the spot beside him indicating for Judy to sit beside him.

She did so, and Nick said putting his arm over her shoulder, "Carrots ... Judy." He looked at her with sincerity in his eye, and he murmured, "I don't say things like this often, I-I don't tell people about me I've only told you a few things." He looked down at his feet then back up at Judy, he removed his arm from around her shoulder, and he shifted his position to be facing her, and he spoke, "I ... I never told you about my life, only bits, and pieces. I-I mean we've known each other for eight months, been together for two." He let his paws slide down off of her, and he added with a brittle voice, "I want to tell you things, b-but I'm afraid if you know you won't want me anymore."

Judy pulled Nick into a hug and said, "Nick, your past won't make me want to leave you." She pulled away and added, "I want to hear everything the good and bad."

"A-Are you sure?" Nick questioned unsure if he could trust her, she certainly believed herself, but would that be the same after she heard what his past was filled with.

"Hundred percent," She smiled.

Nick and Judy talked long into the night, of course, Nick removed his ceremonial uniform it being too hot. By the end of the Night, he had fallen asleep with Judy on top of him in her little bed.

"Nick wake up!" Judy shouted.

Nick sprung up out of bed and, he said with a shudder, "H-holy crap, Carrots don't do that."

She grinned and spoke, "Sorry Nicky, you need to get your uniform home and take a shower you're all musky, and it's going to attract someones attention."

"Am I rubbing off on you?" He chuckled.

Judy grabbed herself a towel from a drawer, and she said quickly, "Yes, and now I need to shower, or I'm going to have red fur coving my body all day, and everyone will know we fell asleep together."

Nick stood up still in his boxers, and he remarked, "It's not like anything happened."

"Which is good, you know are scents will cross and not be washable," Judy shot back.

Nick grabbed his civilian clothes, and he slipped into them, "I'll see you in a few hours okay."

Judy smiled and reached for a kiss, Nick chuckled then he pulled her close to him and kissed her.

"Goodbye Carrots," He said while opening the door to her apartment with his ceremonial uniform in a plastic covering to keep it clean.

Nick grabbed a taxi and had it take him to his home. He paid the driver and quickly went inside the apartment building and straight to his apartment. Nick hung the uniform on a hanger in his closet, then he stripped down and grabbed a towel and walked into his bathroom.

He places the towel on the counter by the sink, and he looked into the mirror. He smiled at himself and said, "First Fox cop, Officer Nick Wilde ... has a nice ring to it."

He went into the shower and washed off Judy's lingering scent, and she grew furs to hide any evidence of him being in the same room with her. Once he finished, he used his body dryer to get most of his fur dry. He looked in the mirror picking up the towel he brought in before. He used it to wipe off the fog in the mirror so he could see himself, then Nick stuck part of the white towel into his ear and dried it off before moving to the outside. Then he did the same to the other ear, before taking a grooming brush to his whole body to remove any remaining loose fur.

As soon as he finished grooming, Nick went into his bedroom closet and grabbed the uniform he needed to wear for what Judy kept calling, "His big day."

He put on a pair of clean underwear then began to slip on his uniform. He pulled up his pants, then his white under shirt. He pulled his jacket over his arms and buttoned it up. He tied his tie around his neck then folded the collar down.

Nick took one last look at himself in the bathroom mirror, and he thought, "She's right, I do look good in blue."

He smiled and thought of the night he just had, how Judy didn't get scared by what he told her, how she hugged him with whatever sympathy he desired.

Nick felt his pockets and realized he forgot something, so he went back into his bedroom and looked at the night table on it was a little blue box covered in a fuzzy felt like material. He grabbed it and looked at it and smiled uncontrollably. Then Nick opened it and inside was an engagement ring he had made for Judy. It was a platinum ring with a round cut one karat diamond ring that had engraved on the inside of it a little pun saying, "You're my Karat now and forever."

It made Nick smile every time; he closed the small box and put it into his inside coat pocket of his uniform to keep it safe until he was ready to ask her.

He Pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time, seeing it was nine AM and he needed to get to the academy by ten. So he called another cap and had him drive him to the police academy so he could finally receive his badge and become a cop.

He walked in and saw the cadets that he trained with all standing and talking with one another eating food set out and coffee to drink.

A lion saw Nick walk in and he said with a chuckle, "Wilde!"

"Andrew!" Nick called out, "You ready to become a cop?"

The lion walked up to Nick and looked down at him and answered, "Can't wait, I'm hoping to get onto the special forces team at precinct one if I even get put there."

Nick smiled and said, "Well don't be so quick to misjudge that big buffalo. Judy says once you get on his good side he's a nice guy. He's got a tough position to keep filled, but he's great at his job, if you're worth it, he will take you." then he chuckled, "That's what Judy says anyway."

The lion laughed out, "Y-Yeah! Well if you're getting into precinct I think I can get in."

"Ha ha very funny," Nick grinned, "I have you know I worked hard to get into precinct one, I had to use my skills in abundance."

"Nicky!" A voice called out.

Nick turned around to see his bunny standing behind her dressed in her ceremonial uniform.

"Carrots," Nick exclaimed. He gave her a hug then broke it quickly to ask, "Have you met Andrew?"

"I can't say I have," She smiled back.

"Hello Officer Hopps, I'm Andrew," The lion said with evident nerves in his voice with a subtle tremble of his paw as he extended it out to her.

Judy kept smiled and shook his paw saying, "There's no need to be nervous, you're going to be a cop too."

The lion pulled his paw away and replied, "Y-Yeah, but ... you're Judy Hopps, you defied all odds and became one of the best cops in the ZPD."

Nick cut in with a grin saying, "Alright Andy stop showering her with compliments today is about all of us as cadets becoming cops so we can be like Carrots here."

"I have to agree with Slick," She added with a grin, "Today is about you guys, not me, I had my moment in the spotlight it's your turns now."

Before anyone else could say something the sound of a mic being turned on echoed the large room and then a voice said, "Alright everyone please proceed to your seats so we may begin the award ceremony!"

"Alright you guys go, I have to prepare for my speech," Jud blurted out as she walked backward.

Nick waved to her and then she turned around walking away. Nick did the same he followed all the other cadets outside where the ceremony was taking place.

Everyone took their seats except for the cadets that stood at the front and waited for everything to start. One it did Judy came out walking up to the pedal stool, and everyone clapped for her.

"Thank you thank you!" She spoke out with a smile glancing at Nick who had a cup of coffee in his paw with his shades on. Judy looked at the cadets as a whole and began to say, "When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along, and anyone could be anything. Turns out, real life is a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy ... we all have limitations ... we all made mistakes. Which means, 'hey glass half full!' we all have a lot in common. and the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try." She smiled and looked down while saying, "So no matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant to our first fox ... I implore you: try ... try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me ... it starts with all of us."

Everyone clapped and cheered for her speech then animals began to get named off one by one, and they would reside their honor speech before Judy would put their badge on their chest and they would salute each other.

Then she called up Nick, he passed his coffee cup tot he animal beside him, and he took off his shades putting them in his front pocket them sitting beside the ring.

He walked over to the stage and up the stairs where Judy stood with a glaring smile, one she couldn't resist but brighten even more when Nick came up to her.

Nick looked to everyone, and he thought for a moment, "It's happening I'm gonna be a cop."

He looked back at Judy, and he smiled placing his right paw on his chest, and he began to speak, "I Nicholas Piberius Wilde swear on my honor never to betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I solemnly do swear to uphold the law and to hold accountable myself and others for our actions, to never mistreat my liberties as an officer and only to use them when no alternative is left. I promise on my life never to take the life of another unless for the protection of others or myself."

He took his paw away from his chest and Judy opened up a blue box inside was Nick's badge she took it out and placed it on the left side of his chest and stood back to salute him, and he saluted her back with a smile of joy he couldn't hide.

the ceremony went on for a short time longer before everyone departed and talked amongst themselves and their family that came.

Nick, however, didn't stay didn't see the need to, and neither did Judy they grabbed a cab and took it back to Nick's place where they went inside laughing.

"Today has been amazing!" Judy blurted out falling back onto Nick's couch.

"It was," Nick replied sitting down beside her.

She leaned against him and held his arm with both hers, she brought his paw up to her mouth and kissed it.

Nick sat up and began to say, "Carrots, I haven't said this before, I've been too scared to say it, but I've felt it from the moment you came back to me under that bridge. I didn't know it then, but I know it now, Judy, I'm in love with you."

Judy jumped into Nick's arms blurting out, "I love you, Nick!"

"Y-You do?" He questioned even though he knew she had strong feelings for him.

Judy pulled away from him and "O-Of course I do, I have since you stood up for me against Bogo, I just didn't know what the f-feelings were, I-I had never been in love before!"

"Judy, t-there's something else, a chance I wanted to take for weeks now," He said pulling away from her. He stood up from the couch and said, "J-Judy, I ... I don't understand how I held it together before I could hold your paw. I-I can't recall if I even knew who I was before you knew me, flaws and all." His eyes watered as he continued to say while Judy stood up, "I-I can't crumble back to the animal I was before, y-you're all that I am I-I'm only this, you changed me, made me better, the only world I know ... is yours alone." Nick put his paw into his pocket and pulled out a small box, and he got down on one knee and said, "I ... I can't believe I ever breathed without you, I don't want to ever be without you." He opened the box Judy gasping at the sight of him, "Judy Hopps, will you marry me?"

* * *

Present time.

"Judy now!" He ordered.

She backed up then turned around and headed to the apartment door leaving it shutting it behind her.

Nick turned his head back to Davis, "you win Davis, you win." Davis faced away from Nick and Nick screamed, "Oh I hate you. Fuck I hate you!" Nick cried out with rage, "I hate you so fucking much!"

"I know," He replied with a tear falling down the side of his face.

Nick screamed at him before saying with a sob, "Turn around ... Now!" He pointed his gun and said, "I-If I put a bullet in the back of your head, I won't be able t say I did it in self-defence."

Davis turned around and wiped the tear from his face saying, "Good you're catching on pretty fast." He looked at the body and said, "if you killed me in cold blood for no reason, then you could go to the prison, I don't want that, so he had to die so you could kill me and get away with it."

"Shut up. Shut up!" Nick yelled.

"Just do it!" He yelled back, "The sooner you do it the better, for the both of us."

"Ahh!" Nick cried out.

"It's okay ..."

"I promise on my life never to take the life of another unless for the protection of others or myself ..."

BANG!

* * *

"I won't let myself end up like whoever did this to you. I'll never go that far with a con, no one will ever get hurt like you were. Goodbye, Dad."

* * *

"Yes!" She cried out, "Yes I will!"

Nick embraced her in his arms, and he laughed with joy.

He pulled away from her and took hold of her paw and put the ring on her finger while he said, "I don't want to hurt anyone while I'm a cop. You will help me never to take a life I know you will, as my friend, my partner, my wife."

"I want your last name," She spoke suddenly.

"W-What?" He questioned, "W-Why?"

She lost her smile while saying, "After what you told me last night with your parents and how they died, how someone took your father away from you, your mother taking her life." She again smiled and added, "I realized I'm ... I'm your only family, and I need to prove that."

Nick took hold of Judy's paws and said with joy, "Judy you don't have to prove anything to me I know you're my family."

"I-I know," She stumbled, "B-But I need to prove it, I need to."

"Okay," He replied pulling her into a hug, "Okay ..."

Judy pulled away from Nick and said questioned, "Nick you told me you didn't want to hurt anyone while you're a cop."

"I did," He shot back.

"That you wanted me to help you to never take a life," She added.

Nick looked her in the eyes worried that she was going to decline his offer, "Y-Yes ..."

"Well ... c-can you do the same for me?" She asked looking him in the eyes with a hope that he would say yes.

Nick almost shocked answered, "Y-Yes of course, I will!" He pulled her back into a hug and said, "I'll help you as you will help me."

* * *

Davis' body fell to the ground a bullet inside his skull the blood spilling out of it the pool meeting with that of the dead detective.

Nick walked back then fell against a wall, and he slid down it. He dropped his gun and stared at the body of the animal he just killed.

"Ahh!" He screamed at himself. "God damn it!" He yelled.

After a few minutes, he pulled out his phone and called dispatch

"Hello, nine one one what is your emergency?" The operator asked.

he answered with a cold voice, "Yes this is Detective Nick Wilde, I've got a one eighty-seven and a four forty-four involving another detective at the apartment on the corner of second and third, third-floor apartment three one five and me."

"Do you know the condition of the shooter?" the operator questioned.

"Uh, yes ... deceased," He answered.

After a few minutes, the operator said, "we are sending officers to your location. Detective, stay there."

"Copy that," He replied before ending the call and putting his phone back into his pocket.

Nick stood up and went to the door of the apartment and walked out sitting against the wall was Judy who was crying.

"Judy," He spoke with a broken tone. He walked up to her, and he sat down beside her, and he cried, "It's over."

Judy pulled him into a hug as she sobbed. Nick held her back, and he too cried.

"I-I'm so sorry," Judy sobbed, "I didn't keep my promise we've failed each other!"

"I-I know," He spoke back with a sniffle, "I know ..."

Judy Pulled away from him and asked, "W-What now?"

Nick looked her back in the eyes and said, "I don't know ..."

* * *

I have an exsuce for being a whole week late but I don't see a point and telling you becuase I just have so much going on with my life right now that I just want to have this uploaded.

Leave a refiew telling me what you think

Until next time


	25. The War of Mind

Chapter Twenty-Five: The War of Mind

The war of one's mind is a fight that no one but the one who's mind it belongs to.

* * *

Four years ago

"How are we going to tell everyone?" Judy questioned pacing back and forth in Nick's bedroom, "I-I mean, not even my parents know."

Nick walked up to her and with a smile answered, "We just tell them, I don't care what they think, I want to be by your side through everything, all the happiness, the sadness, the hardships, the pain, sickness and in health. I want to be there when one of us can't go on anymore and need to be comforted to push through." He held on to her and added, "So we tell your parents first, then the chief."

* * *

Judy Pulled away from him and asked, "W-What now?"

Nick looked her back in the eyes and said, "I don't know ..."

"I-It's all going to be different now, i-its over," She spoke out.

"H-He won," Nick murmured, "He beat me."

Judy pulled him back into her embrace and whispered back to him, "I'm so sorry."

Before Nick could say anything else, four officers came around the corner, and one of them said, "Are you detective Wilde?"

Nick removed himself from Judy's embrace and answered, "Yes I am."

"I'm officer Wynne," The wolf replied, "Officers Santiago, Samara, and Scott."

"Detective Nick Wilde and Judy Wilde," He shot back showing him his badge.

"You called in a homicide?" The wolf asked.

"Y-Yes," Nick answered pushing every emotion he was feeling down so he could handle what was to come. "Over here," He added.

The four officers followed Nick and Judy to the room, where Nick opened the door and walked inside. He went to the living room of the apartment and lying in pools of blood were the bodies of a deer and panther.

"My God! Is that Darcy Davis?" one of the officers questioned.

"Yes, he was holding Detective Morgan as a hostage, then he shot him, so I shot Davis one bullet in the head," Nick spoke out with an almost blank expression on his face.

The wolf looked at Nick and said, "O-Okay, we will get this building locked down, and we will have to get another detective on this, seeing as you two were involved in the shooting."

"Understood," Nick answered.

Officer Wynne spoke out, "You will have to stay until another detective arrives, but in the mean time I can question you two on what happened tonight. Keep in mind even though you answer my questions and file reports, I can't take any of it as evidence or take the other of alibies because of your relationship. I'm sure you know this already, but let's just get on with it."

Nick and Judy both agreed, and they followed him to the hall so he could ask them a few questions about what had transpired.

The wolf pulled out his note pad and his pen, and he began to ask routine questions, "How did you end up here tonight?"

Nick answered, "Morgan called me and said there was a homicide at this location and he needed me to come and investigate. When Judy and I arrived, we went to the apartment to see he was being forced to say such things by Davis."

"How did detective Morgan get killed?" The wolf asked.

"When we got into the apartment, Judy and I pointed out fire arms at him and ordered him to let Morgan go, but he didn't he said, 'don't you want to see the body?' I questioned him then he shot Morgan, I immediately pulled my trigger and shot Davis in the head killing him."

"Do you conquer on this?' The wolf asked Judy looking down at her.

"Y-Yes I was there," She answered.

"Well That's all the questions I have for you," He added.

* * *

Four years ago

"Nick, please don't screw this up," Judy begged.

Nick looked away from the road for a second then looked back while he said, "come on Fluff, if anyone is going to screw up it's you."

"Hey these are my parents we are talking about," she shot back, "I know them I know how they will react."

Nick smiled with sincerity, "I'm sure they will be, okay, m-maybe not at first but they will come around."

"I hope you're right," She replied placing her paw on his arm.

"Oh Carrots, I'm always right, unless I'm wrong," He chuckled.

Nick pulled into the enormous parking lot in front of the mansion that belonged to Judy's parents.

"Wow, I always forget they have such a big home," Nick pointed out as he removed his seatbelt.

"Not as much room when you put around three hundred bunnies into it," Judy shot back taking her belt off as she opened the door to the rental.

Nick chuckled, and he too got out of the car, and he walked around the front of it Judy the following suit.

"This is it; we tell them tonight that we are together," Judy spoke out.

"Yup," Nick agreed.

The two lovers walked up to the house and Nick happily knocked on the door.

To greet them was Judy's mother who flung open the door and squealed, 'Judy, Nick!"

"Mom!" Judy exclaimed back.

"Judy's Mom!" Mick called out with apparent nerves.

"Come in, come in," She offered.

Nick and Judy walked in through the door way and surrounding them were dozens of bunnies all eager to see their sister, but more importantly to them, the fox.

The bunnies flooded over Nick and pulled him to the ground.

"Judy, they got me! go on without me!" He yelled out.

"Oh no, you don't get out of this!" She shot back with a chuckle. "Kids off now!" She ordered.

"Judy you didn't have to be so rude," Bonnie pointed out.

"Yeah fluff," He agreed. Then sang while he stood up, "Why you gotta be so rude?"

"Come on Nick, let's go see Dad," She almost ordered.

"Alright I like your father, hard working animal," Nick smiled.

The three walked down the hall the other bunnies keeping their distance from Nick, to follow their sister's demand.

they reached one of many living rooms where Stu sat on a couch watching the television.

"Honey your daughters here with her partner from work," Bonnie called out.

Stu looked away from the TV, and he smiled saying, "Judy, Nick so happy to see you." He stood up and walked over to his daughter and gave her a hug, "We missed you." Then he broke his embrace and firmly shook Nick's paw saying, "Nice to see you again too."

"Likewise," Nick replied with a smile across his muzzle.

"It's almost dinner," Bonnie pointed out.

"Oh sorry mom, we couldn't get off work early enough to come down sooner," Judy apologized.

"No no, it's okay," Stu cut in, "Work is work, can't avoid it."

"Lot's of things we can't avoid," NIck agreed.

"Well, should we get for dinner then?" Judy cut in.

"Dinner is ready just need to serve it to everyone," Bonnie answered.

The four got all the kits for dinner serving them their food along side a few of Judy's older siblings who also helped to make it go by faster. Eventually, Nick, Judy, her siblings who helped, and parents were able to eat dinner. They sat at the front of the table, most of the kits already finished their dinner each of them washing their own dishes except for the really young ones who still couldn't

"So you're done having kits are you?" Nick asked while they ate.

"Oh yes, I don't think I can handle anymore, I am getting up there," She chuckled. Then Bonnie leaned forward and whispered to Nick, "He's getting his Ya know ... tubes tied."

"Oh God mom not at dinner!" Judy demanded.

"it's true though," Stu added.

"Dad don't, please don't this is gross," Judy begged.

"Alright alright!" He shot back, "I'll stop." He smiled then changed the subject, "So Judy how has life been?"

Judy swallowed the food in her mouth then set down her spoon to answer, "Oh good, good, Nick graduated from the Academy he's my partner a the ZPD."

"Well that's great," He replied. Stu swallowed some food then asked, "So hon, have you found anyone."

"W-What?" Judy asked.

"Stu, don't," Bonnie ordered.

"Have you found a mate?" Stu asked again changing the subject.

"Dad!" Judy called out dropping her spoon into her bowl.

"What I'm just asking," He added.

"Stuy home you don't have to ask her every time she comes back to visit and certainly not at the dinner table,"

"I don't mind," Nick cut in with a grin looking at Judy.

"Mom, Dad I need to tell you something," Judy blurted her tone changing. Then she looked at Nick and smiled saying, "We need to tell you something."

* * *

Present day.

Nick pushed open the door to his and Judy's home, and Judy followed him in. They walked through their living room and into their bedroom. Where Nick began to take his clothes off so he could wash himself, Judy following suit. Once they were stripped down to nothing, the two lovers headed to the bathroom and Nick turned the tap to their tub water pouring into it, he grabbed a plug and stuck it in the drain and the water began to rise. He stepped into the filling tub, and he helped his wife in. Nick laid back Judy laying on his chest and in between his legs.

"You haven't said a word since we were questioned by that detective at the station," Nick spoke out suddenly breaking the silence he referred to.

"I don't know what to say," She answered staring blankly at the wall.

"Judy ... honey," He spoke, "It isn't our faults that we had to do the things we did like you said it's part of the job."

"I know, I killed animals, and I have to live with that, I have for over two years, but I failed you," She replied looking up at his face.

"If you failed me then I failed you," He spoke out right before shutting the tap off the water reaching the desired height. Judy started to cry, and Nick turned her around to face him, and he added, "I'm sorry."

"We promised each other!" She sobbed, "I promised!"

Nick pulled her close to him in comfort. "Shh, calm down, Shh." He broke his embrace and looked at her, he lifted his paw and wiped the tears from her eyes, and he said, "Promises can be made ... but they can't always be kept."

* * *

Four years ago

"Don't mess this up," Judy demanded.

"You said the same thing when we went to tell your parents," Nick replied.

"Yeah and look at how that turned out," She shot back.

"Yeah, it ended on a good note of them respecting our desitions," He answered with a smile.

"Yeah after three hours of yelling and being at one another's throats," She spoke out.

The two came to a stop the door to the office of their chief right in front of them.

"How are we planning on telling him?" NIck asked staring up at the door.

"Oh my God Nick pull it together, this is the most important thing in our lives," She grumbled elbowing him in the side.

"More important than your parents?" He asked with a grin.

"Yes, he's our boss, our jobs are at risk," She replied.

"Fluf I didn't forget I'm just being me," He spoke out.

The two had smiled at each other before Nick knocked on the door to hear a loud, "Come in!"

Well let's go," He chuckled pushing the door open.

The two walked into the office and sitting at the desk was Chief Bogo.

"As Wilde, Hopps," The Buffalo spoke, "what is it you need today?"

"Cheif, we came to talk to you about something," Nick answered.

"Is it bad?" He questioned.

"N-No, but we have no choice but to inform you, it's the rules," Judy answered.

"Spit it out then," Bogo ordered.

Nick walked up and cleared his throat and promptly said, "Chief, me and Judy are engaged in a romantic relationship."

The buffalo looked at the two of them then said with a calm tone, "About time you told me."

"W-What?" Judy questioned with shock in her eyes as she looked at Nick then back at the chief.

Bogo chuckled and answered, "You two make it too obvious that you're together, you're lucky Clawhouser is the one spreading the rumor, everyone takes what he says with a grain of salt."

"W-Wait so how many officers know?" Nick asked.

"Probably all of them," Judy answered, they just don't know whether to believe it or not."

* * *

Present day

"Having a control of one's emotions is the hardest battle anyone can face. Hiding all emotions will lead to one's own destruction, but having no control will give rise to the same. Darcy did not have control, it eluded him and resulted in him being filled with rage and deceit. Our Moral beliefs are what control many of our actions when one's morality is broken such as Darcy, the things we desire can be confusing, and more often broken. Hoping that what we long for will bring us the peace we are searching for. All though he was not one of honor, we lay him to rest now, in the hope that he will find that peace in the next life."

the furnace lit up with flames and the box that contained the panther began to burn.

"Now we return him to ash from which he came..."

* * *

Nick walked down the hall until he came to the room he wished to enter. The hall way was dim for it was close to midnight, the room was dark.

He knocked on the door and heard, "Come in."

Nick opened the door and walked in, he turned on one light leaving it on the dim setting, and he looked at the red furred wolf laying in bed.

"Did you hear?" He asked taking a seat beside the hospital bed.

"T-That you killed Davis?" She answered.

"Y-Yes," He choked.

"Good, I hope he burns in hell," She raged calmly.

Nick blanked out and said softly, "Revenge only consumes what evil has left you."

"W-What?" Olivia wondered trying to sit up slightly.

"Revenge, it's pointless," He answered then stood up to add, "Do you feel any different now that he's dead. I mean of course no one else has to be hurt by him, but do you really feel any different?"

"Nick, He's dead, I'm happy" She answered with a faint smile.

Nick shot back, "You're wrong, this is wrong, if you think that what I did is okay, then I don't know if I want you to come back to the ZPD."

"Come on Nick; He had to die," She added.

"Not like this, He made me kill him in cold blood; I put a bullet in his face while he stood there and took it!" He yelled.

"Nick Calm down the fucker had to die, I would've done it in a heart beat you should've been the same," She ordered.

Nick walked to the door but stopped and said, "If the darkness of this world knocks, don't let it in, for if you do, the evil will consume you and nothing will be able to save you, not even family. The evil will take them from you so they can't stop it from keeping you. I won't let it in again; I won't let this happen to me. My battle with him isn't over, what I did to defeat him, only caused me to lose." He turned the light off and walked out the door, but before closing, he said, "Don't come back to the ZPD. Hatred fuelled, will become a darkness that only evil can destroy, you are that darkness, but I won't be your evil."

* * *

Nick pushed open the door to his apartment, on the couch in his living room was his wife, who had fallen asleep. Which made sense it being two in the morning.

Nick grabbed a blanket from the closet and put it over Judy. He turned off the light to the living room then went back to the front door to leave.

He walked down the street for hours thinking to himself, "Can our choices truly be the right ones when it is our loved ones that are in danger or are they a clouded decision that could get the wrong animals hurt? Did I do the right thing?"

Nick kept walking until he heard the scream of an animal.

He looked around to find nothing, so he ran down the street where he heard the scream and when he turned into the alley to see a bear holding down a tiger as he forced himself upon her.

"Stop!" Nick raged. He pointed his gun at the bear and yelled, "step away from the tiger and put your paws behind your back!"

The bear stepped back from the tiger, but instead of putting his arms up in the air he charged after Nick. Nick pulled his trigger making a loud BANG; then he heard two screams that of the tiger who was spooked by the gun shot and the other from the bear who now laid on the ground a bullet in his leg.

"Keep your paws where I can see them!" Nick demanded while he cuffed the bear.

He pulled out his phone and dialed dispatch and asked them to send two ambulances and officers to his location.

He kept the bear down on his stomach the wound to his leg not being lethal and he asked," Miss are you alright?"

She stuttered, "I-I-I o-okay thanks to y-you." She stood up but didn't walk closer to Nick for she didn't want to be closer to the bear that tried to defile her.

"More officers are on their way, and there's an ambulance coming to take you to the hospital to make sure you're alright.

"W-What about me you shot me!" The bear screamed.

"Shut it, they are going to patch you up then put you behind bars," Nick answered with anger.

In the distance, the sirens could be heard slowly then quickly getting louder until they were on the road beside the alley. The officers escorted the bear to the one ambulance where they patched him up and took him to a precinct to be processed. Nick helped the tiger to the second ambulance that he got in to take her to the hospital.

A few of the officers stayed behind to close off the area gather evidence and video footage from the traffic cameras.

Nick picked questions from the tiger once she was calm enough to answer, then he went back to the scene of the crime taking a cab there. He gathered the evidence from the officers who stood watch then he had them take him to the ZPD where he processed the evidence the footage and the interview with the victim. Then he had gone to question the bear.

Nick pushed open the door to the questioning room where he sat in a chair his arms cuffed to the steel table that was bolted to the ground. His wound was covered up and had stopped bleeding.

Nick got into his chair and stared at the bear for nearly five minutes before the bear asked him, "Are you going to ask me something or not?"

"I don't have any questions for you; I am here to give you a deal," Nick answered.

"A-A deal?" He wondered.

Nick grinned this one of resentment for the bear, "Well kind of, I'm here to tell you that if you plead guilty and don't take this to trial, you will serve less time than if they find you guilty in court."

"How much?" He asked.

Nick leaned forward and said, "Well let's put it this way, if you take this to court, I will personally make sure you send the next forty years in prison. For attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted assault of an officer, and anything I can scrounge up to get you a longer sentence. If you plead now twenty years."

"Are you fucking kidding me!" He raged.

NIck stood up on his chair yelling back at him, "No I'm not kidding you useless shit! You tried to rape someone; You know what, I don't care to take it to court I'd love to see you spend the rest of your useless life rutting away in prison!" Nick jumped from his chair, but before he went to the door, he added, "You know even criminals have standards, and animals like you don't last a month in prison."

Nick opened the door, but before he left the room the bear said, "Wait! I-I'll take the plea deal."

Nick turned around and closed the door, he jumped back into his chair, and he opened the file on the table, he flipped it upside down and said, "Sign here."

Nick gave the bear a large pen, and he signed the document which said he pleaded guilty to the crimes he was charged with. Then he left the room taking the paper and pen with him. He put them on his desk and sat down in his chair, wondering what had just happened.

He forced someone to take twenty years in prison without bail. He lied to him, if it went to court he would've gotten half that and a chance for bail after three years. He didn't have to kill him to make him get what he deserved. Nick won that battle, and he would win the next one.

* * *

"You beat me, but I beat you ... we both lost, and both won. I killed you in cold blood and ended your terror in this city, but you wanted to to be killed by my paw, but I didn't become you, I won't."

Being a cop can take its toll on you physically and mentally, most don't realize the strain it has to be an officer. They are hated because some become crooked some fall to the darkness they sworn the fight. They become cold and selfish, but those who don't deserve more than hate, putting their lives on the line every day to fight evil and make the world a better place. Some are faced with decisions that go against everything they were taught, but sometimes life has this way of putting problems we don't want to face in our way. So when they face them head on and take down a criminal who needed to have his rain end, a bullet is the only way.

* * *

 **Hello there, well there it is the final chapter, I hope you liked it, if you did leave me a review with your thoughts.**

 **Now I leave you for some time, but this isn't the end of Nick and Judy's story, my version at least. I am planning a sequel to this story, I do not have a name for it yet, but it's in the works.**

 **If you want to know when that is I recommend you follow me here on fanfiction and follow my tumblr to have updates along the way for the sequel my name is simonphillip-dosser on tumblr.**

 **I don't like goodbyes so ...**

 **until next time ...**


End file.
